Hola!
Another week gone, and this Friday I’ll turn 6
months old in the mission, so crazy! In
exactly a year I’ll be prepping to come home.
It seems very far away but time in the mission is different so I’m sure
it’ll pass all too quickly and I’ll be wondering where the time went. But for now, I’m doing well here in
Mapastapec with Hermana Arellano. I’ve
gotten some requests to talk a bit more about the people, miracles, and the
work so I’ll try to include more of that in this letter. I can’t be too specific though due to
conserving privacy. One of the beautiful
things about missionary work is that we see many miracles of all sizes and in
many ways and we really get to see the hand of God guiding the work. I couldn’t even number the “coincidences”
that happen day in and day out. However,
we also can see Satan fighting against us and the people we teach constantly,
especially in the little details of things.
On Tuesday we visited the less active couple
and their kids. We talked with the mom
for probably 2 hours as she unloaded everything on us, and let us play with her
little green parrots. It is a very
common pet here in Mexico. It’s amazing
how many things people tell us, how personally we came to know those that we
teach. On Wednesday we went to La
Vainilla and we visited a man who was very insistent on knowing more before keeping
ANY commitments, even little ones, like praying and asking God for himself if
the things we teach are true. Something
my companion told me was that we know we’re teaching by the spirit when we
learn something new while we’re teaching.
This happened in that lesson as we taught about the power of faith. I felt my testimony grow of that principle,
how really faith is like hunger. If it’s
real, you’re going to do something about it.
After this lesson we ate Pig liver for lunch and that’s all I’m going to
say about that. :o)
On Thursday we went to Tonalá for a zone
meeting. We learned about how we can better work with the members-they are
seriously the key in everything. The investigators
pay more attention to them, it’s like they're normal people and we aren't :)
But seriously, when the members start to fellowship investigators from the
beginning, it makes all the difference.
Friday was September 16 which is a big holiday, because it is their Independence Day so there weren't very many people out during the day, but
the city was covered in decorations of flags in red, white and green. It’s fun. I guess they do something here called
"the shout" the night before the 16th, where everyone gathers at
midnight all over Mexico and shouts "¡Viva México!" We were sleeping
because for missionaries we don’t get to enjoy the fun and be festive.
On Saturday we met with one of our
investigators who is soooo ready for baptism, BUT she isn't married and can't
divorce her other husband. It’s very sad
and we pray a lot but honestly, of our top investigators who have baptismal
dates and seriously preparing for baptism, 3 of them (that we know of so far)
aren't married and can't afford to do so. It’s a huge problem here because it's not
cheap to get married and for them it's more important to put food on the table
than have a piece of paper that says they're married. It’s one of the designs
of Satan that we have to fight against a lot. We have some new investigators
that have a bread shop and its verrryyy convenient to stop by for bread and
casually check up on them. Hermana
Arellano and I eat a LOT of bread. haha.
On Sunday we taught Primary the 3rd hour and I
have to say, I have a lot more respect for Primary teachers and everyone who
works to make sure the little kids don't bounce off the walls (too much) and
actually learn something. All in all, the week was good and like every week, it
flew. I look back on the week and I am
honestly so grateful for Missionary work. We have such unique and amazing opportunities
to touch lives and not only be teachers, but listeners, helpers, comforters, cleaners and picker-uppers of alllll! The people under our care which
is basically all of Mapastapec PLUS all surrounding areas within an hour's
drive. Plus, basically anyone will talk
to you about Jesus, the heat, and whether or not it's going to rain so usually
we can start with one of them and lead into the other.
I can't even express the multitude of ways that
my mission has made me a better person, a better member of the church, and a
better daughter of God. And I still have a whole year to go! If there's someone
reading this who's thinking about going on a mission, GO!!!! We see many, many
little miracles- when we bump into people on the street that accept invitations
to baptism on the spot, when people open their hearts and unload their true
needs, when we find a chance to serve someone, even in little ways. The Lord guides our paths constantly and it's
a privilege to serve, despite physical and spiritual challenges. I hope everyone has a great week!!
Con mucho amor, Hermana Dangl
It is very popular to have parrots as pets here in Mapastapec.
Mexico's Independence Day!
This is our "cuarto" we live on the right side with the door and the window on the right.
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