Hey
everyone!
So I am now in my
second area called Nealtican :) We have two wards, one that is above and one
that is below. The ward above is called Atexca....c... haha I don´t know if
there is another c at the end because I have seen it written both ways but you
say it like this: uh-tes-cah :) The ward below has a super weird name and I
don´t know how to say it and I have seen it spelled a few different ways but
this is the way my companion told me: Ixtaxihuatl :) haha have fun with that
one :) um and so basically I am in another pueblo (small town) it is not a city
:) AND!! Grandma Lee would hate it here because...remember that
"huge" hill in Daybreak we made her walk up that one time? Yeah well
my whole area is giant hills :) The streets are super steep. It´s basically
like mountain climbing all day everyday in skirts :) It´s awesome :) haha the
only bad thing is when they give us a ton to eat because we have to
"hike" the whole rest of the day and we can´t breath or walk well
when we are filled to the throat with food...not fun! Luckily that hasn´t
happened very many times :) Oh yeah and it is really close to Cholula (my other
area) I think it is like...20-30 minutes away or something like that. But I´m
not sure...It was kind of funny because I was talking to sister Lindford when
we had our exchanges and she was telling me about this area when she served
here and how it is like mountain climbing and all that and I told her "I
wanna go there!" and she said, "No you don´t". But I really did
want to come here so I could do more walking and stuff so I thought it was
pretty funny how I got changed to this exact place haha and that it is actually
a little bit bigger now since we have two wards :) But anyway, I just thought
that you might think that was interesting :)
My companion´s name is
Hermana Oaxaca :) (wha-ha-ka) like the state in Mexico :) But she is from
Chihuahua so that´s kind of funny :) she is really short and super skinny and
she is 27 years old :) I will send a picture next week because I don´t have one
haha. But yeah we´ve been together one week so I still don´t know how the
companionship is going to go...the only thing that I already know is that she
is a little bit more...I don´t know, like she doesn´t really listen to me when
I am telling her things like stories or asking her questions....I think she
just expects me to already know spanish super well and to memorize where people
live and who they are after one week....so it´s been a tiny bit rough already
but I am getting the hang of how she is so I think I will manage just fine. But
yeah she´s super cute :) she has 14 months in her mission and she finishes in
April. She thinks that we are only going to be companions for this change and
then she is going to have changes and I am going to stay in Nealtican so we
will see what happens :)
Well this week we were
able to have five new investigators which is the goal that our District wants
to have so that was super awesome and I was really happy that we were able to
reach that goal. :) This area is a little weird because we have to wards and
two bishoprics and two ward mission leaders and two of everything haha so it is
different and I am going to have to adjust for sure haha. It is going to be a
lot harder to feel closer with the members here since we have two wards and I
am going to have to remember who lives in which ward haha. But yeah it´s pretty
great. I like it :) I get a lot more exercise in this area than in my other
haha.
I am still reading in
the Bible in my personal study time because I have a goal to finish the New
Testament by the end of February...I am hoping I can make that goal...but it
has been really cool to read it and learn more about the life of Christ and His
teaching style and also about all the things that the prophets and apostles did
after Christ was resurrected. (haha I can´t spell that right in English...how
sad...) but anyway, I was reading today in Romans and there was a lot about
like, agency and how the prize of sin is death and the prize of
obedience and righteousness is eternal life... it´s like an obvious thing but I
like how it says that the prize of death (or reward or something similar) is
death because we receive a spiritual death...and I really like that because it
is applicable to active members, less-actives and investigators because we all
have free agency... Free agency has been on my mind a lot lately haha.
Also, I studied the
law of chastity today and learned a lot of things that I didn´t really realize
before...I knew that breaking the law of chastity was really bad but I didn´t
realize just HOW bad it was! It´s a serious sin...it´s up there with killing
the innocent and denying the Holy Ghost....which is an unpardonable sin... So
yeah...pretty bad.... There´s a lot of problems with this here in this area...a
lot of men leave their wives and have other wives in the United States, there
is a lot of infidelity and all that and it just really made me want to help the
less actives and the investigators to look further into their future...at the
day of judgement and all that so that they can have desires to change their way
of living and save their souls. It´s really cool how the scriptures are being
ful-filled in these days but at the same time it is really sad because there
are a lot of people who don´t understand or can´t grasp the concept that there
is more than just this life...that one day they are going to have to answer for
all their sins and it isn´t going to be a pretty experience.... I want to help
them realize this and change and save their souls!!! But I don´t know what to
say sometimes haha because some scriptures are pretty strong..haha... and I
don´t think they would take it very well...
But yeah, those are
some of my thoughts and some of the things that I have been studying... I am
trying to become a better missionary, teacher and person and I am trying to see
things and people as Christ and Heavenly Father see them, myself included. I am
also thinking a lot more in my future and how the choices I make now are going
to affect me and my life....and my final judgement haha! Don´t worry, I am not
thinking so deeply in my final judgement that I am losing hope in redemption or
anything like that, I am just thinking about it enough to motivate me to become
better :)
Oh hey, could you tell
Grandma Carole thank you so so so much!! (for the money she gave me) That was
so nice of her!! Really, she didn´t need to do that...it was super nice and I
am really grateful to her... I love you Grandma! :) Oh and aunt Cindy, I love
you so much! You are such an example to me, always have been. I feel so awful
that you are going through all this and I don´t understand why it is happening
but I always pray for you and your family and, well, OUR family that we can
feel comfort and that you can have some strength too. I don´t understand the
plans of God but I do know that He has a plan for every single one of us and He
gives us challenges so that we can become stronger.... Keep being strong Cindy
and keep fighting! I know it is exhausting, well, I don´t know from experience
but I can imagine, and I know that it is hard....but I know you can do it and
you can do ANYTHING with the Lord. You have so much faith and so much love for
and in the Savior and I know that He feels the pain that you feel and He knows
exactly what you need. I know that my mom told me that you like to read my
emails haha and that you think they are funny (I don´t know how you think they
are funny because I am not a very funny person....) But I am glad that you like
them :) I thought of you and a story that I could share because to me it was
super super funny :) hahaha!! Actually two stories :) So the first one happened
in my last area. We were walking to a house to teach an investigator and we
always took this one path that is like a tiny short cut so that we could get to
the house. Well anyway, the short cut is like a tiny little dirt path and
there´s like plants and a little house on one side and on the other side, super
close to the path, is like a mini wall of bricks. Well, behind this tiny wall
of bricks, we encountered a drunk man named Thomas. He is a less active who is
super addicted to alcohol...it makes me so sad everytime I see him that way
because we knew him when he was trying to quit and he is really nice and really
wanted to quit...but it´s hard for him. But anyway, so we talked to him for a
while and then while we were walking away we said "adios!" and I
crashed into Sister Lara haha and said "oof!" and Thomas thought I
said "Om" like "um..." haha so he said, "Om, Om!"
and we were a tiny bit freaked out cuz he´s this drunk guy and we were in a
small area a little bit solo...and he was really close haha but nothing bad
happened so don´t worry :) But anyway, so he came to us and had two roses in
his hands. One was fully bloomed and the other was a little rose bud. So he
hands the rose to my comp and tells her that it´s for her and then he hands me
the rose bud and says "this one is for her because your vocabulary is more
open like this flower and hers is more closed like this one" and he was motioning
to our designated roses. hahaha! oh man, I thought it was so funny! He called
me "Om" and then told me that my vocabulary is like a closed rose
bud...but the funny part is is that he was DRUNK and still was able to think of
that comparision! It was super creative :) I didn´t get offended because of the
situation but if it was a perfectly sober person who told me that...I would
probably feel pretty bad about my spanish haha... :) well, maybe it´s just me
but I think that story is super funny :) if you don´t think it´s funny I´m
really sorry...the mission is changing me into a really weird person and
sometimes I think things are funny when they aren´t all that great haha.
This other story is
really funny though :) haha I wanted to laugh SO hard but I couldn´t because my
companion was the one that did it and she was totally serious about it like it
was nothing haha so I had to hold my laughter in and it was SO hard!! But
anyway, so this one happened here in my new area. We came home one night and
started our daily planning session and all of the sudden my companion
farted...like, a good one haha! It was pretty loud haha but all she said,
completely serious, was "Ándele" and that was it! Hahaha oh man... I
was DYING! it was so funny! her tone of voice...oh man...yeah well, that is all
I got...sorry. This is why I am not and will never be a comedian haha because I
am not funny…but whatever. I´m happy so that´s good :)
Well...this is super
long and I still need to give y'all a challenge :)
The challenge this week
is....*drum roll please*.... to read the introduction to the Book of Mormon and
then start reading the Book of Mormon itself from the beginning because in the
introduction Joseph Smith tells us that it is the most correct book on the
earth and that we will grow closer to God if we read it AND live by it´s
precepts. So, the challenge is to not only read the Book of Mormon, but to
ponder on the words that you read and find some way to apply it to your
life.
I know that what
Joseph Smith said is true. We can grow closer to God by reading the Book of
Mormon because it is the word of God and I know that it really is the most
correct book in the world. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and it holds
all the answers to every question and every circumstance. I know that if we
pray for the Spirit before we start studying or reading that we will receive
inspiration and the Spirit will open our minds and our understanding so that we
can apply the precepts of the Book of Mormon to our personal lives. I know the
Gospel of Jesus Christ is true, and that when we let the light of Christ
penetrate our lives we will live more happily and more fully.
I hope you all have a
great week! I love you all!!
Love always,
Hermana Walker
:)
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