Remember how I hate hiking. Like, I
never even wanted to hike the Y when I was at BYU? Well, the Lord sure does
have a sense of humor because my area is literally a mountain.
I survived my first week of
training! haha. My companion is really sweet and cries a lot, just like me! She
always apologizes when she cries and I just tell her that I cried my first 12
weeks so she doesn't need to worry. She is a really great missionary and is
doing more than I did when I first got here! She is from the state of
Mexico...not really from Mexico City. She is the oldest in her family and has 2
younger siblings. She has been a member all her life. She is a really great
teacher and we are doing our best to find lots of people to teach.
Can I just tell you that I love this
ward that I am in. It is the best. We got to Iguala Tuesday morning and the
bishop came and took us to our apartment. I don't know how, but all of our
luggage fit on top and inside of his little VW bug. He has been the bishop for
like 12 years...so Pop, count your blessings! haha. Tuesday was a crazy day. We
had a meeting with our zone, we went shopping for food and contacting a little
bit. The schedule here in Iguala is a little different, we have to be inside of
our houses by dark which is like 6:30.
The first night we were there, the
Stake President came by with his daughters because they are in our ward. One of
his daughters just got home from the mission and the other is the primary
president in the ward. They are twins and SOOO awesome. They offered to go out
with us the next day to show us around and help us find investigators that were
listening to the missionaries before. They have been so helpful.
Oh, let me tell you about our house.
When we got here, we were living in a TINY, and I am not exaggerating, TINY
little depressing box. It was a room with bunk beds, a tiny table and a
bathroom. I wish I would have taken a picture of it, but it wasn't worth it.
Plus, various members told us that we shouldn't live there because it's really
solo and a lot of policemen live in the same place and that's not a good thing.
We let our leaders and President Kusch know what they were saying about where
we lived. We got a call the next day from our leaders and they said, 'Hermanas,
go pack your stuff now. You have to move today.' Um...where? We were going to
live with another pair of sisters in a different area which would have been
super annoying because it is far away. Luckily, there is an Hermana in our ward
that has basically a house on top of her house that she used to rent to the
missionaries. We went by and asked her if we could rent from her again and she
told us that it was fine with her. The Zone Leaders and the Stake President and
his daughters came and helped us move. I don't know why the sisters ever moved
away from there in the first place because it is so nice. The Hermana lets us
use her WASHER! I have never had a washer in the mission and I am loving my
life right now. It's the little things in life, you know? We have a ton of
space to study and a big kitchen and everything. Plus, sometimes her grandkids
come up and bring us tacos at night. :)
Many of the members have mentioned
that they felt like a big piece was missing when the missionaries left and they
feel like we are angels here in their ward. They are all so willing to help us
and we have had more lessons with members here in this first week than I ever
had in a week in my old area!
My companion and I have been able to
find a few people to teach. Some of them were investigators of the sisters
before and a few weren't. One is named David and he is 11 years old. His mom is
a member of the church and super nice but David has doubts. He told us that he
needs to 'meditate' about his baptismal date. I was like, what is there to
mediate. You have gone to church for 4 years. haha. He is a cute kid and a
little rebellious, but I like him. We are trying to gain his confidence so that
he will trust us a little more. I just can't help but think of Easton when I am
teaching him. A little stubborn but deep down a cute little teddy bear! :)
We went with a member to go find an
old investigator on Saturday. This member lives up this huge hill. I have been
using my Crocs that I brought for the last 7 months and the traction doesn't
exist anymore and I thought I was going to die. Then she tells us that the
investigator lives just up the hill from where she lives. Little did I know
that 'just up the hill' meant that we were going to have to CLIMB UP A
MOUNTAIN. Like seriously, there wasn't a real path. I don't know how these
people live like this! But they are some of the nicest people I have met.
On Sunday morning, my companion and
I were kneeling down to say the prayer so that we could leave to go to church
and I got a call from the 2nd counselor in the bishopric asking me to give a
talk...that day. I was like...um, sure! I have no time to prepare anything. I
grabbed a Liahona and hoped that it had something good inside of it, and we
headed to the church building. Luckily it did have something good and I talked
about how the Book of Mormon teaches us how to live in times of war and
violence...fitting, right? I talked mostly about obedience and how it protects
us in times of trouble. After I sat down, I realized that I gave a talk without
writing the whole thing out and I am pretty sure everyone could understand me.
I thought back 10 months ago when I first got to Mexico and I would have died
if they had asked me to give a talk, even with a week’s notice. I have come a
long way.
I am so grateful to be here in the
mission. It is hard. But I am grateful for the experiences that I have been
given to help me be stronger. I am grateful for the gospel that brings us hope
and peace in a world that is crumbling. I know that there are people who are
being prepared or who are already prepared to accept the gospel in this area
and I am ready and excited to find them and help them become clean from sin and
feel the love of their Savior in their lives.
Thank you for all of your love and
support. I can't believe how fast time is flying by and I know that it is not
going to slow down. Please have a safe and happy week and don't forget about
your favorite Hermana in Mexico!
Love,
Hermana Durham
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