Dear Dad, Mom, Richelle, Logan, Jordyn, Carlee, Jennafer, Katia, Mackenzie, and Addison, and whoever else reads these letters:
Cambios are February 3 - and 5 sisters are going to come! They are the first new sisters to come to the mission in 11 months! So we're all pretty excited. Two of my companions, Hna Cruz and Hna Bravo, will be going home in February.
Jordyn, I could barely see your drawing in the picture, but from what I could see, it was amazing! Hna Luque thinks so too. And we both think that you are so grown up and beautiful!
Dad, sorry you've been sick. I've had a nasty cough lately. I feel fine, and my throat doesn't even hurt, but every 10 seconds I have to cough. And it sounds like a fake made up cough, but it's real. It's been rather annoying.
And Mom, I did get a new backpack! My last one broke - it was Hna Aguilar's and now Hna Luque is using it. Hna Luque is funny - she doesn't like to buy stuff, so most of the stuff she has people gave her or she saved from the garbage and then fixed it. My new backpack I bought in the tianguis for 80 pesos and is really nice - I'm planning to use it for hiking after the mission.
So this Sunday was stake conference - it was really good! Pres Stutznegger and his wife spoke, as well as the temple president. I really enjoyed it! I remember my first Sunday in Mexico was Stake Conference, and I didn't understand anything. It's amazing how much the Lord has blessed me. Learning Spanish so fast was definitely a gift from Him, and I am so grateful for all the ways He's helped me during my mission.
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| Stake Conference (photo creds to Hna Stutznegger!) |
That's so exciting that Janae's off! You'll have to get me her email so I can write her. I love her so much and I know she'll be a great missionary.
January 6th was 3 Kings day... the 3 Wisemen come in the night and leave toys in the shoes of the children. And everyone eats this bread called Rosca - it's bread formed in a circle, with several little plastic dolls baked in it. Everyone takes turns cutting a slice out, and whoever gets the doll apparently has to buy tamales for everyone lol. Apparently it represents when they hid baby Jesus in Egypt to keep him safe from the king. It was fun and the bread was good! But I forgot to take a picture of it :(Hna Luque and I bought one and the loser had to shower first every day that week. I lost. And the sad part is that we had run out of gas and we didn't have time to buy more all week, so it was COLD water. But we just bought gas again so all is well.
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| Rosca (photo creds to Elder Smith, who didn't forget to take pictures!) |
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| Plastic doll representing Baby Jesus. |
On Wednesday we had to go to Immigration to do some visa stuff for Hna Luque. (She goes home in April!) That was fun, because Hna Gurley had to go as well with her comp, so while they were busy doing the visa stuff we got to chat for a bit. Immigration is downtown Mexico, and it is way different over there. Really pretty and clean... There were missionaries from the North mission and the South mission there as well, so we got to chat with them for a bit.
So our investigators are doing really well... Jorge is progressing really well, but we can't put a baptismal date with him because he has to clean up some crazy stuff from his past first. Estefania and Jesus couldn't come to church, but they're reading and praying and are planning to get married this week or the next so that they can get baptized. And Adolfo introduced us to another friend - Margarita (Maggie). She's amazing and smokes a ton, but is super excited to get baptized. We're working of the Word of Wisdom with her, and I know that she can do it! She's super sweet and LOVED church on Sunday. Thanks to Adolfo, 1 of his friends has gotten baptized and 5 more are taking the lessons right now - we're teaching 2, the Elders are teaching 1, and the other 2 are in another ward. It's been so great to see Adolfo sharing his testimony with the whole world! And Josefina also loved Stake Conference. She's been doing so great and loves everything about the gospel. I love her so much!
We recently read 2 Nefi 4 as a zone. I've read it tons before, but lately we've been sharing it with tons of our investigators, new members, less actives, and actives. It's really powerful and I love the message that it gives. When Nefi wrote it, his dad had just died and his brothers were very rebellious. I love how he says that the Lord has been his support, and has helped him to overcome all of his trials. I have seen the hand of Lord here in the lives of so many people. When we put our faith in Him and do as He asks, we honestly see miracles in our lives! It's been amazing to see the Lord help the people who trust in Him. It's also been really sad to see the people who decide to put their trust in their own knowledge and ideas. It never works, and they always end up worse off. The Lord doesn't ask us much, just obedience and faith. And when we do our part, He WILL come through with His part. Elder Holland said that ''some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don't come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come.'' I know that to be true. Trust in Him, and he will never let you down.
And yeah! That's about alll! I don't have any pictures this week... Hope you all have an amazing week. Good luck with your exams girls! I'll be praying for you! Espero que disfruten su dia y que lo pasen muy bonito. Be good, say your prayers, and study hard for those exams!
Con mucho amor,
-Hermana Taylor
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