Hermana Dangl - Missionary in Mexico: Semana 14

Hola Family and Friends!

I am back in Tonala and doing well. Being away from Tonala made this week a lot sweeter because I realized that I actually love this place. It’s hot and there are a lot of bugs but somehow I love it and it feels like my home. On Tuesday I spent the entire day at the bus station waiting for my new companion, Hermana Limon! She’s really great! She has 7 months in her mission and she spent all of that time in one area, Comitan, baptizing like crazy. Hermana Limon is 27 years old and is from Puebla, Mexico. She’s super little, shorter than me, but has a ton of energy and a huge smile. It’s great! She’s very different from my past companion, but I think I’m going to learn a lot about missionary work and different ways of doing the Lord’s work.

On Thursday we got a call that the senior couple missionaries were going to come by and check our house for cleanliness in one hour. I can’t even express the frantic cleaning that ensued. We had just had cambios (changes of companions) and it was a ridiculously dirty made for a messy combo. When the couple came we had just barely finished and I was pretty proud of the job we did. They came in and looked around and told us the house seemed like it hadn’t been cleaned in a while and we needed to put forth some time on that.

On Friday we had the opportunity to give (watch the Elders give) service! It was moving a fridge so we kind of just directed things while the Elders did the heavy lifting. We also watched some butchers carry cows cut in half to various places in the market and it was one of those things that’s so gross and weird that you can’t look away. That night our capacitadoras (Sister Training Leaders) came and slept at our house and in the morning we all got up at 3 am to head out to the temple! Practically the whole ward packed into two convies and we left around 4:30 am for Tuxtla. The temple is so pretty and I had a once in a lifetime experience. The temple session was in Tzotzil! There were a ton of indigenous Mexicans, many of whom don’t speak Spanish, only their own dialect. There were Spanish subtitles and I surprised myself by how much I understood of the Spanish. The Tzotzil stuff was cool to hear, but I never want to have to learn it. It’s super fast and sounds nothing like any language I’ve heard before. There were a couple members of the ward who went to the temple for the first time and were sealed as a family for time and all eternity. So amazing, I love the temple! That night we did a ton of street contacting and prayed that in that moment and that place, everyone we contacted would give us their phone number and accept a baptismal invitation. They all did! It was amazing!

(A note about from me, the mom, Sherrilynne, about this language. When I told my mission president from Chile, President Craig Zwick last November that my daughter was going to the Tuxtla, Gutierrez Mission, this is what he said. "One of our fondest memories was to tour the Tuxtla Gutierrez Mission and then conduct a temple reivew in their beautiful temple there. Part of Hermana Dangl's mission includes San Critobal, where the natives speak Tzotzil, the Mayan dialect. They greet each other with a beautiful expression that sounds like "Ku shay ehlan" which means "How is your heart?" Blessings to you and your family." Katelynne mentioned last week about going to San Cristobal with her companion and how her companion had learned that language. How neat that she was able to hear it spoken in the temple.

Sunday we had church and Monday we cleaned the tank. Maybe some of you remember that we wash our clothes on the roof. There’s a huge cement tank that holds all the water for these washing endeavors. The tank was absolutely filthy, full of bugs, algae, and dirt. So we spent quite a few hours Monday draining and cleaning. The Elders came and helped us a bit which was really nice. We’re trying to clean our whole house but it may be impossible. Anyway, that’s my life right now! I’m starting to understand a lot more Spanish, which is good because I don’t feel so frustrated anymore.

Heavenly Father has taught me a lot about patience and bearing your afflictions with patience this past transfer. I’m also learning to appreciate not just the good times here but the pains and trials as well. Romans 5:3-4 “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience; experience; and experience, hope.” I only have one mission, one chance to live and teach these people in this place. All of it – good and bad is part of the experience. Already 1/6th of my mission is done and I can’t get that back. It’s crazy! Happy Father’s Day!

Con much amor, Hermana Dangl