This week went well! We had
interviews with President and they were great. I honestly love that man.
He is inspired and I feel so grateful to have him and Sister Kusch as
my 'fake parents' on the mission. We talked for a good while about my
personal progress and how I am doing as a missionary. He told me that I
will look back on this time years from now and be grateful for this
time. I am learning things now that will serve me for years to come. He
said that I will receive blessings throughout my whole life for my
service. I am always worried that our numbers don't reflect exactly how
we are doing in our area and that he only judges us based on the numbers
we report each week, but he assured me that he knows that Hermana Ward
and I are working our hardest. He knows that challenges we face in our
area and he appreciates our efforts we are making to fulfill our purpose
as missionaries. I felt on top of the world after my interview with him
and had a renewed determination to give it my all.
Our
ward had a Noche Mexicana on Friday to celebrate Independence Day. Of
course I wore my embroidered shirt and everyone told me that I looked
super Mexican! I was so flattered! haha. I think they love that I try to
be as Mexican as possible even though I am so white. This ward is
great. We did 'el grito' VIVA MEXICO!!!! and everything. We sang the
national anthem...which I didn't sing because I didn't know the words. I
did salute the flag, though! We has serveral investigators come and a
lot of the members brought their friends. We couldn't stay for the whole
thing (we heard it lasted until 12!) but they made sure to give us food
before we had to leave. :) Eder, the son of Tomas, danced a traditional
dance from Guerrero but I missed it because he danced after we left.
They made sure to record it and show it to me later, though!
The
highlight of the week was the baptism of EDER!!! He is 10 and has been
so excited to get baptized, he even programmed the date of his baptism
in his dad's calendar on his phone. He was supposed to be baptized 2
weeks ago but it was postponed twice for various reasons and I was so
happy that it finally happened. Tomas was so excited to baptize his son!
At the end of the baptism, Eder got up and gave a little 'testimony' of
sorts. He said 'Hermanos, estoy muy feliz porque hoy fue mi bautismo.
El señor me tocó a mi corazón! Y mañana es mi confirmación y estoy
emocionado.' WHich means...Brothers and SIsters, I am very happy because
today was my baptism. The lord touched my heart. And tomorrow is my
confirmation and I am very excited! It was the cutest thing and made me
cry. I love Eder and this family.
Fabiola, the
wife of Tomas and mom of Eder will be baptized next week. It has been a
struggle to teach her because she works all the time, but we found her
miraculously this last week and we were able to finish teaching her. All
of our appointments fell through that day so we decided to visit Tomas
and Eder because they are usually home. When we passed by, Fabiola was
there because Eder stayed home sick that day from school and we were
able to finish teaching her. Tomas was leaving to go somewhere but
before he left he said 'I want to go to the temple! With my wife!' and I
said 'Don't worry, Hermano, we will get you there.' I can't wait for
the day when they are sealed as a family. I hope I can be here for it.
The best part of the lesson was when Fabiola told us that her sisters
were telling her that she was only going to this church for her husband
(they are super catholic). She said that she told them that she was not
going for that reason. She was going because she knows that it is true!
That if she didn't want to go, nobody would make her. She told us that
she has seen so many changes in her sons, her daughter in law and her
husband and she is so grateful. She told us that she has a testimony and
invited all of her sisters to her baptism because she wants them to
know that she is doing this because she believes it! Loved hearing that!
I
was sad when I got my changes to come to this area because I loved
Iguala but I know that I needed to meet and help teach this family. I
know they are one of the reasons why I am in this area at this time. I
am so grateful to have been able to see the miracle of the gospel work
in their lives. They have all changed and are so happy. Yesterday, Eder
came to church in a white shirt and tie! He usually would come in jeans
and a t-shirt. And Tomas came up to me and said 'I have a problem! I
have to speak in church next week!' haha...he is so excited and I showed
him how to use the gospel library app on his phone to look up talks and
scriptures about his topic.
There are so many
other things I could write you about, but I will leave you with a few
scriptures that I read this morning that really touched my heart:
Luke 15:7
I say unto you, that likewise
2 Nephi 26:28
Behold, hath the Lord commande
I
know that NONE ARE FORBIDDEN to partake of the blessings of the gospel.
I know that our Heavenly Father rejoices when we repent. I know that
the atonement was performed for EVERYONE and we are ALL of worth. The
scriptures don't say that he died for just a few, or for only the
perfect people (which don't exist). Nope. It says that His sacrifice is
for ALL. TODOS. Everyone can partake of His goodness and receive the
fullness of His blessings. WE just need to repent and try to be a little
better each day of our lives. We need to remember that we are never
cast off but that His arms are stretched our still. He loves us
infinitely and perfectly.
I
love you all. I keep you in my hearts as I work hard to find the people
who want these blessings in their lives. I love being here in Mexico
and I am grateful to be a missionary!
Love you all!
Hermana Durham
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