Hola!
Sorry if I go into Spanglish during this email. The last week has been the longest week of my life, but it's also been the most rewarding. Things are definitely different here in Mexico and in the field. No one really has AC here, so when we teach lessons, we are usually sitting on some box in the shade outside someone's house. Sometimes people will invite us in, and they will have a fan. My area is Loma Linda, and it's a pretty big area. It takes about an hour and a half to walk from one side to the other. Hermana Monson, an American, and Hermana Moreno, from Peru, are my companions, and I love them. Hermana Monson is my trainer. Both of my companions have been in the field for three months. There are 7 missionaries total in the ward I serve in. Two companionships of Hermanas and one companionship of Elders. Hermana Palmer is in the same ward and house as me, and it's really nice to still be able to talk with her.
This week was hard because we aren't having a ton of success. No one is home or they are too busy to talk to us. A lot of people say that their family is sleeping, so they can't talk with us, and they usually say this until 1. In my mind I always think "But it's 12:30! You should be up by now" but the culture is just different here. Yesterday was at first hard because none of our investigators went to church, and when we walked about 30 minutes in the heat to an investigators house to invite them to the later meeting, they said they couldn't. However, it did get better later because we ended teaching more lessons than usual and getting two investigators to commit to a baptismal date! There were 3 different baptisms that we went to this last week, and that's so good because it means that the work is progressing.
The members really take care of us here. They feed us everyday at 2, and the food is SO GOOD! When I had mole before, I didn't like it, but here it's like food from heaven. Yesterday we had tacos, the little tiny ones, but oh my goodness they were amazing! I ate 11, mainly because the latina missionaries and the members were always saying "One more! One more!" after I finished eating one. Then afterwards, we were at a recent converts house and they gave us two pieces of mango pie, which was also delicious, but I was so full! Yesterday was the most food I have had here. I walk all of it off though. It's really hot here; my face is always red and covered in sweat. But it's alright, because everyone else is sweaty too!
So this week there was a big gun fight with cars on fire and stuff, it was in a different area than where I was, but we had to go back to our house for the rest of the day. A couple members picked us up and dropped us off at our house, so we wouldn't have to walk. The mission president is careful to make sure we are all safe. I definitely feel protected here though; Hermana Moreno can understand when people are saying things that aren't good, and she tells us when we need to go to a different area. Most of the people here are really nice though. Every time we go to someones house they ask if we need water or want something to eat. Also, we are in a safer part of Reynosa.
Despite my feet hurting all the time and all the sweating and grossness, it is worth it all, when I'm in a lesson, and I feel the Spirit, either when I'm talking or my companions are. I have been trying this week to turn my selfish thoughts like "I'm so hot and my feet hurt" into selfless thoughts like "How is my companion feeling? How are my investigators coming unto Christ?" It's been a roller coaster of emotions, but I know I'm doing the right thing. I know that God loves the people here, and He sent me here, so I could learn to love them as He does.
Until next week!
Hermana Stevenson
Sorry if I go into Spanglish during this email. The last week has been the longest week of my life, but it's also been the most rewarding. Things are definitely different here in Mexico and in the field. No one really has AC here, so when we teach lessons, we are usually sitting on some box in the shade outside someone's house. Sometimes people will invite us in, and they will have a fan. My area is Loma Linda, and it's a pretty big area. It takes about an hour and a half to walk from one side to the other. Hermana Monson, an American, and Hermana Moreno, from Peru, are my companions, and I love them. Hermana Monson is my trainer. Both of my companions have been in the field for three months. There are 7 missionaries total in the ward I serve in. Two companionships of Hermanas and one companionship of Elders. Hermana Palmer is in the same ward and house as me, and it's really nice to still be able to talk with her.
This week was hard because we aren't having a ton of success. No one is home or they are too busy to talk to us. A lot of people say that their family is sleeping, so they can't talk with us, and they usually say this until 1. In my mind I always think "But it's 12:30! You should be up by now" but the culture is just different here. Yesterday was at first hard because none of our investigators went to church, and when we walked about 30 minutes in the heat to an investigators house to invite them to the later meeting, they said they couldn't. However, it did get better later because we ended teaching more lessons than usual and getting two investigators to commit to a baptismal date! There were 3 different baptisms that we went to this last week, and that's so good because it means that the work is progressing.
The members really take care of us here. They feed us everyday at 2, and the food is SO GOOD! When I had mole before, I didn't like it, but here it's like food from heaven. Yesterday we had tacos, the little tiny ones, but oh my goodness they were amazing! I ate 11, mainly because the latina missionaries and the members were always saying "One more! One more!" after I finished eating one. Then afterwards, we were at a recent converts house and they gave us two pieces of mango pie, which was also delicious, but I was so full! Yesterday was the most food I have had here. I walk all of it off though. It's really hot here; my face is always red and covered in sweat. But it's alright, because everyone else is sweaty too!
So this week there was a big gun fight with cars on fire and stuff, it was in a different area than where I was, but we had to go back to our house for the rest of the day. A couple members picked us up and dropped us off at our house, so we wouldn't have to walk. The mission president is careful to make sure we are all safe. I definitely feel protected here though; Hermana Moreno can understand when people are saying things that aren't good, and she tells us when we need to go to a different area. Most of the people here are really nice though. Every time we go to someones house they ask if we need water or want something to eat. Also, we are in a safer part of Reynosa.
Despite my feet hurting all the time and all the sweating and grossness, it is worth it all, when I'm in a lesson, and I feel the Spirit, either when I'm talking or my companions are. I have been trying this week to turn my selfish thoughts like "I'm so hot and my feet hurt" into selfless thoughts like "How is my companion feeling? How are my investigators coming unto Christ?" It's been a roller coaster of emotions, but I know I'm doing the right thing. I know that God loves the people here, and He sent me here, so I could learn to love them as He does.
Until next week!
Hermana Stevenson