This week was really good.
Last week, after we got done
writing, we went to a Park in Cuernavaca called Chapultepec. It is really
pretty with a lot of trees and animals of all kinds. We saw monkeys, ducks,
birds, and snakes. We were walking around and we found a petting zoo section
where we saw some little piglets. My companion got so excited and said that she
wanted to hold one of the piglets. I was like...um, I am NOT touching that, but
if you want to...let's go! We paid 10 pesos and it was actually really good
because we got to feed this cute little cow, some chivos, I held a cute little
bunny and there were some BURROS! haha. The best part was that we literally
spent 10 minutes trying to lure out this little piglet (the mama pig was
HIDEOUS so we needed it to come out of the pen). I had the job of holding the
bait and the camera to get ready to snap a picture. Hna. Corriveau grabbed the
piglet and it started SQUEELING SO LOUD. She freaked out but not before I
snapped a picture and got a video of it. I wish I could send videos but it
wouldn't load. You'll just have to see it in 2 months. Literally one of the
funniest things I ever saw. We took some more pictures and then went to Carl's
Jr. Don't judge me.
We were basically out of our area
for 3 days because we went to Cuernavaca to do divisions on Monday night to
Tuesday and then Wednesday we had consejo. Divisions went well, we did them
with Hna. Neuberger and her new companion Hna. Mejia. They are kind of opening
the area so we had fun getting a little lost, but Hna. Mejia and I found a
family to teach that are super cool!
I got the package mom sent me on
Tuesday night. Thank you so much. I needed those hankies. And Hna. Corriveau
wears her shirt every night to bed. :)
Wednesday was probably the best day
ever. Remember when I told you I called President to get permission for the
divisions we were going to do? And we talked about Thrifty? He basically hinted
to me that we would be getting Thrifty Ice Cream after consejo and so when we
got to consejo, he announced that after, we would ALL be going. I was so
excited. The consejo was so good. Only President and Sister Kusch talked to us
about improving our teaching skills and how we can use different ways to teach
certain subjects. During one of the breaks we took, we cut President's tie...a
tradition that we do when a missionary goes home. We each took a snip of it and
then Hna. Kusch cut the whole thing off. We sang a verse of God Be with You til
We Meet Again. At the end, they gave their testimonies and it was beautiful. We
put together a little book of letters for them and I wrote a poem. I read them
the poem at the end of the meeting and they cried. It was a Kylie Durham original
so of course it made us laugh and cry. I will send a picture of it.
I am going to miss them SOO much. We
had a BBQ and while we were eating, I asked Hna. Kusch an inspired
question..."How did you know that President Kusch was the one?" and
that started the whole story of how they met and President got in on telling
the story to make sure all the details were correct. They are the cutest and we
were cracking up.
Then we headed to THRIFTY where
everyone ordered ice cream and it was so much fun. The Sister Training Leaders
bought President and Sister Kusch the typical shirts from Mexico and I also
gave them the shirts with my face on it and they thought they were so cool. I
will get to see them one more time at Stake Conference next week and then I probably
won't see them until October. I am so lucky to have had them as my mission
president and wife. They are the greatest.
We got home and only had a few days
to work in our area, but KATYA got baptized!!! We had her baptismal service on
Friday. She showed up a little late and I was a little worried, but it all went
well. Her husband came to support her and she was so happy. She was confirmed
on Sunday!
We are still working with our
investigators that are progressing and trying to find new ones. Fabian is
literally so great. We taught him on Friday after the baptism and he said,
"Who wouldn't want to be in this church? Who wouldn't want to have the
light that you have?" Every time we teach him, we feel the spirit and the
sincerity that he has in finding the truth.
Church was really good yesterday.
The testimonies were super powerful. I really love being a member of the
church. I have been studying the conference talks from this last conference and
every time I read them, I KNOW that we have the true church.
Here is a quote from President
Packer's talk that I loved:
"I bear witness
that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of the living God. He stands at the head
of the Church. Through His Atonement and the power of the priesthood, families
which are begun in mortality can be together through the eternities. The
Atonement, which can reclaim each one of us, bears no scars. That means that no
matter what we have done or where we have been or how something happened, if we
truly repent, He has promised that He would atone. And when He atoned, that
settled that. There are so many of us who are thrashing around, as it were,
with feelings of guilt, not knowing quite how to escape. You escape by
accepting the Atonement of Christ, and all that was heartache can turn to
beauty and love and eternity.
I am so grateful for
the blessings of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the power of procreation, for the
power of redemption, for the Atonement—the Atonement which can wash clean every
stain no matter how difficult or how long or how many times repeated. The
Atonement can put you free again to move forward, cleanly and worthily, to
pursue that path that you have chosen in life.
I bear witness that
God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that the Atonement is not a general thing
that is for the whole Church. The Atonement is individual, and if you have
something that is bothering you—sometimes so long ago you can hardly remember
it—put the Atonement to work. It will clean it up, and you, as does He, will
remember your sins no more. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."
I know that is true. I know that the
gospel of Jesus Christ saves lives. I know that Christ paid the price for us
all to be happy and to be clean. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a
missionary during this time. I have never felt so much joy in my life as I have
during these times on my mission where I have been able to help others come to
realize that they are truly God's children.
The church is true. And it's the
ONLY true and living church on the earth. I love being a member of it.
Love you all! Have a great week!!
Love,
Hermana Durham
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