So Many Hills

It seemed like we climbed SO MANY hills this week. It is getting a lot hotter here in Iguala and I don't know if I am going to survive this time around without an air conditioner in my house.

Last week for p-day my companion and I went to hang out with some of our friends from the ward. They are twins and around my same age (a little younger..haha what's new?) and one just recently came home from her mission. They are super nice and we made Oreo balls!!!!! And cheese cake. One of them is a chef and studied cooking and everything so she knows how to make awesome stuff, but she left us for a while to prepare the food we were going to eat and we forgot the cheese cake in the oven and it kind of exploded and then sunk down. We were with her sister who doesn't know how to cook and she wasn't very happy, but at least the Oreo balls turned out good! haha...and the cheese cake tasted good, it just didn't look very pretty! :) They also let me borrow a dress because we were going to have a conference this week and most of my clothes are just...well, not super cute anymore. We also played dress up with some of their traditional Mexican outfits and it was really fun!

We were going to have a conference on Thursday in Chilpancingo with a member of the area seventy in Mexico and sadly it was cancelled. :( We were so excited and had all of our clothes ready and our bags packed and at 8:30 the night before we were going to leave, they called us and told us that we weren't going to go. I actually didn't believe my district leader because sometimes Elders like to play jokes and tell us things that aren’t really true, so I told him I was going to call the zone leaders to verify haha..and well, it was true and we almost cried. I was so excited to go because we haven't had a general authority come to the mission since I have been here. It was cancelled because of some unrest in Chilpancingo. I heard yesterday that we aren't going to have it this week. We thought that it would just be postponed, but they told us that we aren't going to have it at all. :( BUT...we are going to get to watch MEET THE MORMONS tomorrow after our district meeting and that is the only thing that makes it a LITTLE better. I am super excited to see it. And in English! hooray!

Luis is progressing really well. He came to church yesterday and he just looked different...happier. It was his first day to go without smoking and he did it! We were talking to him after church was over and he said that he is determined to stop for good. We were telling him how happy we were for him and all of a sudden he started crying and turned away so we didn't see him. When he composed himself, he told us, 'I just feel...different. Better.' I looked at him and said, 'You look different. You look happier. It is because you are living the gospel.' And he smiled. Seriously, from the first day we met him, he looks and acts differently. He wants to invite his friends and family to church and is really working hard on keeping the commandments. I love seeing the changes that happen in the people we meet. The people who really keep their commitments and want to change. Once Luis decided he was going to change, it was amazing how fast the spirit started working in him. He understands what we are teaching better and he even shares what he learns when he reads the Book of Mormon. It is awesome!

Juan and Marta (the man that was really angry but then ended up crying in the lesson) are progressing well and came to church yesterday! They brought their grandkids and they loved it, too! Their daughter that goes to another ward accompanied them and told us that she is really grateful for us and is super happy that her parents are so interested.

Also...we saw a miracle yesterday! We have a less active member in the ward named Daniel. He is a mechanic and lives super close to us so we always pass by. His wife and kids are not members. He joined about 5 years ago and was super active, but in the last year he stopped going regularly because his wife had surgery and he told us that he feels lonely when he goes because...well, his wife isn't with him. We have been trying really hard with Fidela (his wife) and have visited her several times, but she hasn't ever gone to church. We passed by in the morning and her son told us that she was planning on coming but she was getting ready when we passed by. Well, a lot of times they tell us that but they end up not coming. We were standing at the door greeting everyone and we saw Daniel, Fidela and their 2 younger sons! I almost cried. I really hope she liked church. She told us that she did...but we are going to visit her this week and see. And we are going to pray really hard that she keeps coming!

Yesterday I had the phone on silent after church and forgot to change it back to sound, and when I looked at the phone we had 2 missed calls. I figured it was our district leader, but it was President Kusch! I freaked out. My companion asked if it was normal for President to call us and I was like...no. And if he calls, we should always answer right away. I called him back 2 times but he didn't answer. My companion was like...call him again!!! I told her that it was fine and he would call back, but I was totally stressed out. He eventually called us back and I apologized profoundly for not answering the first time, and he just joked it off so I knew it wasn't anything serious. Haha. He just called to tell me that Cuernavaca Stake had their stake conference yesterday and one of the speakers was Hno. Tomas Pintor, and he said that he did a great job and talked about his conversion to the gospel. He just wanted to tell me that I have a great convert and that he is doing great. I definitely cried and told President that I would never forget that family and he said...They won't ever forget you, either. I thanked him for letting me know and ended the call. It made me so happy to know that my converts are enduring to the end and still joyfully living the gospel.

I really love the experiences that I am having here in the mission. I love the people we get to meet and the members who love and help us. I am grateful for my companion. She really is wonderful and we have fun together. People have started telling me that I am 'dying' which means my time in the mission is coming to the end. I never understood why other missionaries always freaked out when people would say that to them (when I was a younger missionary). I always thought...how awesome! They are almost done. But now I am starting to understand. You think it is never going to end and being a missionary is just the way of life now. But I am trying to enjoy every minute...even when we climb up so many hills and sweat so bad. It is all worth it.

I love you all!! Thanks for the love and support!!

Con MUCHO amor,

Hermana Durham

Oreo Balls!!

Just rock climbing in my area...no big deal!