I Fell In The Mud

Hello Family!!!

Another week here in Iguala. It's weird because it's starting to feel like my home here. 

Yes I fell in the mud. Ok, it wasn't that dramatic...but it was really embarrassing. We went to visit an investigator and he wasn't home, but his brother was and he said that we could teach him. He got out some chairs for us to sit on. It had rained the night before so the ground was muddy. We had a member with us and she and my comp sat down first and all was fine. I sat down in the chair he handed me and all of a sudden, I was on my side in the mud. I don't know what happened...well, yes I do. The ground was soft and when I sat in the chair, one side sunk down into the mud and I lost balance and yeah...so I had mud all over my hand, my skirt and my leg. My hand was a little scrapped up but mostly I just felt really dumb and I almost cried...ALMOST. But I held it together and we had a good lesson.  We didn't have time for me to change so I had a dirty skirt the whole day but luckily it was dirty right in the spot where my bag hits me so it was hardly noticeable. Yes, the life of a missionary is super glamourous.

This week went well...it wasn't quite as dramatic as last week with the baptism craziness, but we are finding more people to teach. We have some really great investigators and we are working really hard to help them progress...but the thing standing in their way is going to church. We do everything we can, but the thing I am realizing is that the obstacules that these people are facing...well, most of them are from their own making. Excuse after excuse after excuse. Being a missionary is great and I love it...but it is so frustrating at the same time. We have one less active sister who has 5 kids that want to come to church. 2 of her kids should be baptized. She tells us every week that she will come to church. We go by her house, call her, text her, but in the end, she dosen't come. It makes me so sad because she is not only halting her spiritual progress, but that of her children who really want to learn and go to church. 

OH...remember the investigator I wrote about who only wanted to pray in Hebrew? His name is Cipiano. HE CAME TO CHURCH YESTERDAY! When I saw him I was so confused. His dad is a member so he came with him. There is a member in our ward who apparently knows him so he brought him over to us to tell us that he wasn't a member. Of course I already knew. Cipiano was like 'Yeah...you haven't come by my house lately.' And I was like 'Um...actually we have but you were never home....and you are slightly crazy and scare me.' The member asked us why we haven't gone by to visit him so we explained to him why and he offered to visit him with us...so I might have a chance to hear a prayer in Hebrew. 

Romaldo recieved the priesthood yesterday and Danna was confirmed a member of the church in sacrament meeting (since her baptism was on Sunday last week she had to wait a week to be confirmed). Our ward has a goal to read one chapter in the Book of Mormon everyday and the goal is to finish by March. THey gave everyone a little paper that says 'HE LEÍDO EL LIBRO DE MORMÓN' in block letters and there are little boxes to mark off each chapter. Romaldo asked me about it after church because he was confused so I explained to him what it was all about. We went to visit him later that day and he whipped out his paper and showed us that he has already read 2 chapters! I was so happy because he can't see very well...or read very well, but he is trying his best! We asked him about what he read and he explained about Lehi and Nephi and how they left Jerusalem and all. He told us that when he went away for 2 weeks to work, he read up to chapter 12 in 1 Nephi but started over since they gave this goal in the ward. He is seriously so awesome.

I love hearing from my family that you are going out with the missionaries!! That makes me so excited. Lessons with members are SO helpful and I am glad that you are helping the missionaries. I can tell you that they love and appreciate you!. 

I am almost finished reading the Book of Mormon and I can't tell you how much I love that book. It truly contained the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It has the secret to being happy. You want to know what it is...obedience to the commandments of God. I know that obedience to the commandments is the only way to be truly happy in this life. God knows what's best. And he gives us commandments to help us reach our potential and receive all the blessings he has in store for us. I hope that all of us can come to the point where we realize that the commandments of God aren't burdens...but they help lift the burdens we have. 

I am sure I have said this before, but if you aren't reading the Book of Mormon everyday, I would encourage you to start. 1 chapter everyday...that's all. You will learn so much and your life will be blessed with a greater understanding of God's plan of happiness for your life. It's a wonderful thing. 

Well, I hope you all have a fabulous week. I love you all!! Thank you for the pictures, letters, and prayers.

Love, Hermana Durham

I didn't take any picture this week except this one. This is Pao  and he is one of my favorite kids in our ward. He is obsessed with my stickers and always asked for 'estrellas'. I had Dora stickers this week and he decided that I should have all of them on my forehead.