Pictures

These are pictures of me with a jug of water which I frequently buy at the gas station and carry around with me everywhere, and Hna. Taylor and I at the temple, along with the baptism pictures. The last one is a fort that me, my companion, and the other two sisters built in our apartment.  We pulled out our mattresses and slept in it. 

Week 10

It was SO great to talk to you on Christmas! I was just grinning all day. Loved it. Thank you for your patience with the technology...some day it'll work. I hope you all had a fabulous day!

We've had an awesome week. It was Christmas, we ended up having a baptism, we had our prayers answered, AND we had a baptism. That was pretty much the greatest part.

Okay, so Thursday was the prayer answer day. Of course, our prayers are answered pretty much everyday, but this one was special for me. I really wanted to find some new people to teach. I read that one way to find people is to look for the unplanned opportunities on the way to your appointments. So, I decided to pray that I would find someone "unplanned" during the day and know that I needed to talk to them. We had a great day and around 8:00pm we were driving back from an appt. I had gotten so caught up in the day, I had forgotten to look for the opportunities! However, we passed this man walking on the side of the street, and I had that impression to go talk to him. My companion was a little hesitant because we thought he was holding a beer bottle, it was in a little sketchy part of town, and at 8:00 at night. I almost pushed it aside, but then I got that feeling again. So, I told her to pull over and we casually walked back so it didn't look like we were stalking him. When we approached him, he kind of kept walking passed us, but we started talking so he stopped. It turns out, he just had a pop bottle and he was super cool! He seemed a little interested and we got a return appointment. I don't know if anything will come of it, but it was super cool to see how the Lord had answered my prayer. I was happy.

 

The baptism. This amazing lady is Julieta. She is an angel and probably the most prepared person I've ever seen in my entire life. Everything we teach her she already has a testimony of it. It's amazing. We thought we were going to have to baptize her next Saturday, but we worked it out enough so we only had to push it one day back. So yesterday we had the baptism! It was sooo good. We had such a good turn out from the ward (25-30) and she was so touched by it. We had her bear her testimony after the ordinance. Through tears she said how much she felt the Holy Ghost. She said when she got in the font the water was cold, but as soon as she came up out of the water she was warm. It was the sweetest thing ever. She was so overwhelmed. UGH. It was soooo good. I can't even describe it. We had everyone there write their testimony on a card for her. We're going to put it in a book with some pictures and give it to her. I also played the song "Redeemer" as a special musical number. It felt so good to play for people again. I was thinking as I played it, that I've only played that song for some of the most influential, or important events in my life. Grandpa's funeral, Jake's farewell, and my first baptism. It just keeps getting better.

 

We also had exchanges from Saturday to Sunday. I went to south Phoenix. It was interesting to see a different area and to see how a different companionship works. I learned a lot. Plus, the dinner appointment we had was casserole! And we had ice cream. It was so American - I loved it. I was also the only one who could play the piano in their ward, so I played during church. It's a handy talent to have. Mom, I have to laugh when people ask me to play - I just remember you wanted me to learn how to play the hymns so bad when I was taking lessons. Well, now I can assure you it is coming in handy. I play all the time. So thanks :)

 

Anyways, it's been a wonderful week to see the Lord's hand in my life, and the lives of others here in Phoenix. I hope you've been able to see His hand in yours! Maybe you can start the year out by giving someone a book of mormon, ya? Just a missionary thought. I hope you have a fabulous week, and...HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Week 9

I won't write a lot this week because I get to see you in 2 days! But I just wanted to say hello and I'm excited to see you! I was able to be a part of a special MLC meeting on Friday. Usually it's just for District and Zone leaders, but they invited a few other people, myself and my companion included. They called it "the meeting." haha. Some representatives from SLC came down and did some special training. It was MIND BLOWING. I was so grateful to be a part of it so early in my mission. It totally changed my perspective on how to teach people and being a missionary in general. There was only one other girl my age in the meeting. (mission age, 3 weeks old). We talked about how lucky we felt. I can tell you more details later. That was pretty much the highlight of the week. We also got a man named Oscar to committ to baptism. He is the husband of Julieta, our investigator who is getting baptized on Saturday. We were pretty excited. Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Eve.

Week 8

Sorry this is a couple days late! I hope you're not too worried...or I hope you're a little worried. haha. Either way. We had a huge 3 day mission conference this past weekend that took up our p-day and we didn't have time to email yesterday because of appointments and such so that leaves today. Yay! The conference was great! We had great speakers and food and Santa even came. It was a great time. Yesterday morning we went to the temple as a mission. Our zone went in one of the last sessions so we woke up early and did initiatory before our session. It was only the second time I have done it so I really enjoyed it. Definitley an uplifting weekend. Also, we found out that on January 11th, Mitt Romney and Elder Holland are coming to ASU for a conference. Elder Holland requested some time with the mission here in Arizona. So..the tempe, phoenix, and one other mission are getting together so he can talk to us! I'm super excited. I hope to see Korbin Kavanaugh there AND I get to hear from Elder Holland. We're pretty psyched. I really don't have much to report. We will hopefully have a baptism a week from Saturday. A lady named Julieta. She calls us her angels - like Grandma Homer! She was SO ready for the gospel. I'm really excited for her. I gave a talk in church on Sunday. Or at least tried to ;) It was a little intimidating trying to give it in Spanish, but I think I got the message across. Yesterday, we OYM'd a guy named Salvador. He had sooo many questions. The best part was I knew the gospel could answer everyone of them. Unfortunately, he's not in our area, so we have to turn him over to the elders. I really hope to see him again though. He was legit. Last night we also had a really good lesson with a lady named Domitilia. We taught her the restoration all the way through. At the end, my companion made me speak (she purposefully goes into silent mode so I have to speak...so frustrating) and I just shared a personal story about the priesthood and bore my testimony. I felt the spirit so strong. So strong. I knew it was there. All of a sudden she just starts crying! I was amazed. She seemed really distant about the church before, but we knew she felt it was true last night. We invited her to be baptized and she said she would if she knew it was true. We'll see what happens. Anyways, that's really all that is new right now. I'm excited to talk to ya'll in a week! It's coming fast! I can share more then too. Thank you for your emails! They are always so inspiring. Also, I would love it if you could all send me your testimony in a letter for Christmas. That would be fabulous! I love you all and hope you had a fabulous week!

Week 7

So..here I am in Phoenix or The lone and dreary world as I like to call it right now. I never knew being a missionary could be so hard! I had a lesson in the CCM of how our homes were the garden of eden and we were cast out into the lone and dreary world -- or the CCM. Then, the CCM became the garden of eden and the mission field is the lone and dreary world. That is where I am right now. The Lord wants to prune me a little more and teach me some more things. It's a bit difficult from this end though! Dad, I appreciate that I am allowed to feel overwhelmed. Every day it gets a little better though.

So, the trip. I made a goal to give away one BofM in the Mexico airport. I told my teacher that and when I went to our classroom to get my things I found 3 more sitting on my desk. Apparently he wanted me to give out some more - so I did! I traveld with one other girl (going to Boise, Idaho -- look out for an Hermana Clegg mom and dad) and we acted as companions and gave out 3 Books of Mormon and many Mormon.org cards. It was scary at first, especially because I couldn't understand them, but luckily Hna Clegg is really good at Spanish. I just bore testimony and handed them the book. We figured it was a great way to start the mish. I tried to call you, mom and dad, but the operator said your phones weren't collect calls and it wouldn't go through. It'll be more fun in a couple weeks anyways. The flight was super uneventful (I used that word just for Jayna). I walked out of the terminal to find this 7 foot man and his wife waiting for me. Little did I know he was my mission president. I definitely look up to him in more than one way...lets just say that. One of the elders that is an assistant to Pres. Toone is like 6'7'' too. It was strange going from the Mexico people to Americans. I was the tall white girl in Mexico, and quite the opposite in the airport. I got to talk with them for about an hour as we waited for the missionaries from Provo to arrive. That was pretty cool. I didn't realize that most missionaries don't get that much time with him, so I was grateful for the opportunity. They are amazing, definitley like my parents here in Arizona. I was pretty homesick for Mexico the whole day. I missed my district and my comp, the food, everything really. All the other missionaries knew each other so it was weird. It was really hard knowing I had just had these amazing experiences in Mexico and no one understood the transition I was having. We stayed in a members home that night and had transfers the next morning.

My trainer is Hermana Taylor. She is from Washington. She's been out for about 3 months. She's pretty cool. Hermana Gates set a high bar for my other companions, but she's growing on me every day! She knows a lot of Spanish, so that's good and bad at times. That night we taught a man named Jose. That was a little intimidating! haha. I'm so green it's ridiculous. Our zone leaders tease us about greenie blessings. We had 6 investigators show up at church on Sunday and we had like 11 member presents this week and one investigator on date. We really have been blessed. I'm definitley fine with it!

So I'm serving in Phoenix, if you didn't catch that yet. I'm in a spanish ward. It's great, just different. I really can't understand anyone yet so that's pretty frustrating. I'm ready to be good at spanish now. haha. We have dinner appointments every night with some of the best mexican food I've ever had. They definitely feed us a lot. I'm just praying my body can process it all and I don't gain wait. My companion has already gained 10 lbs and I hear the average is 15. Oh my cupcakes. We'll see what happens. The members here are amazing. We took a lady to an appt and she ended up teaching the whole lesson! They are so focues on missionary work and so willing to help us. A lot of the members are converts themselves so that helps a lot too. They're great.

Yesterday was Stake Conference for our area. President and Sis Toone actually came to our meeting and talked. For some reason I had a feeling Prs. Toone would call on me to bear my testimony...sure enough. He asked me and one other elder to come up on the stand and bear our testimony of the Savior. I was so grateful for that experience. I've never been so calm talking in front of 600 people. It was really cool and I'm so glad our investigators were there to hear it. They have translation for spanish speakers, so even though I can't tell them in their language yet, they know now that I do have a testimony of Christ and I am a representative of him. It was cool.

Anyways, my time is running out. But, I want you to know that I do have a testimony of the Savior. This has been the hardest time of my life, but I know that He has been with me every step of they way, holding my hand and pushing me along. I have never felt closer to my savior than I do now, and I am so grateful for that - especially during the Christmas season. I love you all and hope you can feel the love from the savior the way I do. Have a great week!

I Met Elder Homer!

I GOT THE PICTURE FROM ELDER HOMER. WE ARE LIKE SIBLINGS. LOVE THIS KID.

Week 6

Well, every thing has to have an end, ya? The time has come my friends.

First, let me tell you about Thanksgiving. It was a glorious day and probably one of my favorite thanksgivings. I missed you all terribly, but I was so happy to spend it with my little district family here. The elders played their own "turkey bowl" in the morning. Someone brought a football and they got their fútbol americano fix. We decided to be the cheerleaders and took pictures to support them. It was all fun and games until a teacher came out and told us we weren't allowed to play it anymore. Whoops. It was fun while it lasted. We joked that it was only because it was American. We had class after that. I was expecting it to be a normal day, but our teacher was like "You are all good teachers, we will write grateful notes and listen to Christmas music." I was totally fine with that. He brought us some paper and we started writing. We each took a piece of paper, put our names on the top, and passed it around so everyone could write something on it. My elders were sweet - it was fun to see what they wrote. We had lunch after that. I was honestly expecting the normal pollo y tortillas de maiz that we have every day, but boy was I surprised. We walked into the comedor and they had white table cloths everywhere. They had made the traditional thanksgiving meal. Ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, rolls with butter, pumpkin and apple pie WITH haagen dazs ice cream and gravy. OH MY CUPCAKES. After a month of eating unidentifiable Mexican food, it was heaven in my mouth. Definitely not as good as a home cooked meal, but I was SO grateful for it and the expression of love from the staff to honor our holiday was really sweet. It was great.

For the rest of the day, we studied a bit and taught one of our investigators. They had  special Thanksgiving devotional for us that night. Our evening teacher (vargas) told us he would bring us churros..the authentic kind..before the devotional. We waited for him, but he never came so we just went to the auditorium. Right before it started, he came and found us, brought us out side, and gave us the greatest thing I've ever tasted. It was a churro with marmalade in the middle. Some had chocolate, raspberry, or strawberry. Dang. It was so good. He was like "Happy Holiday" in his little accent. It was so cute. It was a really good day.

Yesterday was a bit rough. We had fast and testimony meeting and our district leader, Elder Fearnley, was the first one to bear his testimony all in Spanish. As soon as he was done his companion, Nelson, jumped up and bore his. Just like that, the rest of the elders in our district bore their testimonies one after the other and then Hma. Gates and I finished. I was sobbing. It was so cool to hear all of them bear their testimonies in Spanish. I just made me realize how much we have learned here. It was a powerful meeting. We took pictures with our Bishop and the Presidency afterwards and he gave us these organic, native made bookmarks. It's gorgeous and a fabulous way to remember Mexico. Last night, the Elders gave everyone blessings. Such a great experience, again. I was inspired to ask Elder Nelson, and it turns out he really wanted to give a blessing. I love how the Lord works. We watched Legacy last night, after the blessings, and then took pictures and said our goodbyes. Gates and I actually woke up this morning at 3:30 to see them off on the bus to the airport. That's where the real goodbyes are. It was so bitter-sweet, but I'm so excited for our Elders to have a fabulous mission. They will all be wonderful. We leave tomorrow at 2:30am. Yay for no sleep! It's great, I'm way excited to meet my mission president and see the area where I will be for the next 17 months. I love you all and can't wait to talk to you on Chistmas..yes I'm already looking forward to that. I know this church is true, and I know that there are people in Tempe who I promised before this life that I would come find them and teach them the gospel. I have been so privileged to grow up with the fullness of the gospel, and I am so glad that I get the opportunity to give back a little and bring it to my friends who have been waiting so long for it. I'm ready, and I know they are too. I love you all and I encourage you to find someone who needs to hear about the blessing of the gospel this week. Have a fabulous day! ADIOS MÉXICO.

Week 5

Happy Thanksgiving!  What a great holiday. We truly have SO much to be grateful for in this life!

It's pretty much just been another "week on the farm." (in mom's words) Class, rice, beans, tortillas, more class, lesson, sleep. It's great! 

Thursday was my favorite day. We have something called TRC. We teach people from the city. Usually its just members that volunteer so we have more of a home teaching lesson or they pretend to be investigators. BUT, this week we had the sweet opportunity to teach 2 real investigators! It was actually pretty ironic. All day my companion and I had been complaining how much we just wanted to be in the field. Sometimes its hard to make lessons real when you are teaching your teacher and in a time rotation. I had a really bad attitude about TRC and just didn't feel like teaching. I felt like I got slapped in the face when we walked in and our teacher told us they were real investigators. The Lord seriously has sense of humor. It was pretty cool. It taught me two things. 1. I don't know Spanish at all. Actually that's a little dramatic, I do know some, but people can talk really fast. 2. Sharing your testimony is the most powerful thing you can do. The first guy we taught was a man named Miguel. His son was a member and he was interested in the church. We asked him some questions about his thoughts on God and such and he just talked and talked. He talked so fast! Hma. Gates and I just looked at each other and smiled. We had no idea what he was saying, but we knew he had a testimony! He started tearing up and it really brought the spirit into the room. We just bore testimony and at the end he asked how he could become a member! I was able to explain baptism a little bit. He was interested! He was as sweet man. The second time we taught we taught a woman named Natalie. She is actually a friend to our teacher. That lesson went pretty good. Again, we mostly just bore testimony. It was really cool to share it to someone who hadn't heard it before and didn't have their own. I don't know if that makes sense or not, but it was just really refreshing. It was amazing to me the love I felt for these people I didn't know. I can safely assume that that is the love God has for them. I feel so honored to feel that and be one to help them feel of His love. Our teacher just told us yesterday that Natalie was really touched by meeting with our district that night and has decided to be baptized! Woot. It really was for real. I count it a great blessing from my Heavenly Father. Just to get a little taste of what is coming in a week. I'm so excited! 

Saturday we had a branch testimony meeting because one of the districts was leaving. Instead of going to TALL (which is a language study program on the computer) we had a testimony meeting. We actually got in a bit of trouble. Our teachers weren't too happy to find us skipping our language time. I felt a little disrespectful, but I had to laugh! Our major act of rebellion was having an inspirational testimony meeting to build each other up rather than study for another hour. The circumstances were just really funny. Only in the CCM. It's our district's time to shine now! We are the oldest and ready to go. I got a letter from my mission yesterday. One of the elders in my district delivered it to me. He said is super sketchy like something was wrong so my first reaction was a sinking heart and worry that I wasn't going to be able to go to my mission. But it was quite the opposite. It was just a welcoming letter. My mission pres. sounds awesome - I'm excited to meet him. 

Anyways, mi familia. Estoy muy agradecido por ustedes. Estoy muy agradecido por este Evangelio y por la oportunidad a servir un mison para mi Dios. Estoy muy agradecido por los Estados Unidos y por mi mision en Arizona. 

I love Thanksgiving. I'm not sure what I will be able to do yet. One of our teachers asked what we wanted, so we made a list. He said he'd do his best to get what he could. We might be making hand turkeys and paper feathers...the elders have strange ideas. I know we have a special devotional, but that's all that is planned as far as I know. I'm still grateful to be here I wish all of you the best holiday. I pray for you every night! Be happy and spread the sunshine! As Dove chocolate once told me, "You can't bring sunshine to the lives of others without bringing it to yourself." I hope you get the opportunity to serve someone this week - that is a blessing in itself. I love you all and wish you the best!

Week 4

Another week down. Only two weeks left in Mexico from today! Este es muy loco. 

Este semaña has been so wonderful. SO wonderful. The Lord has really blessed us. We've had some amazing lessons with our investigators. We are getting more comfortable with the language and with simplifying the gospel. Hallelujah. Instead of planning for hours, we are now able to just walk in with our spanish scriptures and teach whatever the investigator needs. It is so much fun! 

This week has really been a week for service. On Friday, we had planned to teach our investigator, Carlos, about the Restoration. We were so excited and so prepared! We get in there and he starts off with asking us a question about the tree in Lehi's dream. Right then I knew we weren't going to say anything about the restoration, but I was SO excited! I could teach that one. I had no idea how I was going to say it in spanish, but at the moment that really didn't matter. I had shared my thoughts on this with Hma. Gates earlier so she just looked at me and urged me on. I started explaining how the tree is the love of God. The scripture John 3:16 says "For god so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son." Therefore, we can concur that the tree (being the love of God) is really Christ and the fruit is the Atonement. Therefore, our journey on this earth is really to partake of the Atonement and to know God. Oh my cupcakes. I didn't think my heart could feel that much joy. The look on his face when he understood it was priceless. All of a sudden, we weren't teaching Carlos, we were teaching our teacher. Man it was just really awesome. The spirit was there and the spanish just came. The gift of tongues is real. We left that lesson feeling so good. Later that day, I found out that one of our elders was having a really tough day, and was really considering going home - I didn't know that at this time. His companion came and told me he was having a rough time so I wrote him a note to help. Hma. Gates and I went outside to study the scriptures and of course, began with prayer. I just felt really strongly we needed to go in and talk to him. I wasn't sure about what, but we went in anyways. When we got to our classroom, only the two elders were there, (which was perfect) and I suggested we all read Alma 26 together. We sat in a little circle and started reading. A little side note, I absolutely LOVE reading the scriptures as a missionary. I learn something new everytime I read. Anyways, the spirit was super strong and that chapter pretty much outlines our whole mission experience. It was pretty cool. Half way through, the rest of the elders came in the classroom. I expected them to be super rowdy, but instead, they pulled up a chair and our reading circle grew. We all chimed in different comments and thoughts. It was so powerful. At the end, this elder that was struggling just broke down and told us what was going on. It was so cool to feel the love we all had for him. We spent another 30 min boosting him up and telling him he was loved. These boys are seriously like my other family. We are all there for each other. This elder wanted a blessing so they gave him one. It was the most powerful, spiritual, experience I have ever had in my life. What a sight to see 7 worthy preisthood holders surround this missionary as he called on his companion to give the blessing. We were all bawling by the end. I have never felt the spirit so strong. All but 4 of us ended up getting blessings. I loved how each one that asked for a blessing, asked their companions. It was just really cute. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to be surrounded by these angels. I love them and I know they love me. It was so cool to have all of them around me. I didn't really think I needed a blessing because we had had such a successful day, but boy was I wrong. I think because I wasn't preoccupied with something that was bringing me down, or that I needed help with, the Lord took advantage of it and told me what I needed to hear. I asked Elder Backus to offer the blessing because his blessing remind me the most of Dad, Jake, and Dustin. It just felt right. The Lord truly had a lot to tell me. I received answers to prayers I offered years ago. It just strengthened my testimony that Heavenly Father truly does answer prayers. I would count that blessing and experience as my conversion. It was pretty cool. 

That was really the highlight of the week for me. Ever since then our district has just gotten closer. It kind of scares me because I have to leave them in two weeks, but it's so fun. 

I'm getting a little nervous thinking I'll be in the field so soon, but with these experience I've had this past week, I'm so ready to go find people. It's time to storm the castle. (in Dad's words.)

I love you all, and am so, SO, grateful to be an eternal family. Hma. Gates and I starting talking about our families and we both ended up sobbing. Our elders were a little worried when they came back and saw our faces. It was funny. But really, the love I feel for all of you has only grown more and more with each week. You are all my inspiration. 

I know that this church is the true, restored church here on the earth. I know that my Savior, brother, and friend, Jesus Christ, lives. I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us to return to him and to become like him on this earth. I know that prayer is real, and the Lord will answer in His own time, when you are ready for it. I know that my Heavenly Father loves me, knows me, and helps me. I love this gospel. En el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen.

More Pictures...

Mi compañera y yo with our teacher Hermano Vargas and he is also Luis and José, two of our investigators. I love him so much - such a good teacher!

Random picture of Mexico...

 

That one is of today. We were driving back from the temple and a guy was selling bananas. I ended up having some pesos with me so I bought some for our district. They were so good! It was awesome to be on a bus in the middle of Mexico just chillin with some bananas.

We were super matchy matchy that day.

The FUNNIEST Latinos ever. Hands down. They always joke around with us. It's fun to practice our Spanish with them while they try to practice their English with us. 

Our teacher leaves us our homework on the board and draws the hermanas to look like me and my compañera. Just thought it was super cute.

Our district!

Week 3

It sounded like the wedding was a big hit! You all looked GORGEOUS. That was so fun to see. Thank you for the pictures! I was thinking of it the whole day! I was actually pretty emotional on Saturday. After praying for a while, I remembered that my Savior feels everything I do, and I pictured him crying with me. It was a sweet moment. I'm so grateful to my Savior and so lucky to have you all as an eternal family. :)

This week has been SO much better than the last week. I'm now considered one of the "old ones" and give advice to the newbies. That feels pretty weird. But we really do have 3 weeks left. They weren't kidding when they said the days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days. It's amazing. No bones were broken this week...luckily. My Spanish is slowly improving and we had a lot of success with our investigators this week. We have two now, (both our teachers) but we had an eval with them and they said we were progressing really quickly. I think we're a little too hard on ourselves. We forget we really have only been here for 3 weeks...we can't be fluent yet. I've learned so much this week though. How to be closer to the Lord, how to have confidence, a little on how to simplify the gospel. I feel very blessed. 

I've actually had a cold for the past 3 days. One of the elders in my district got it and lo and behold, everyone else got it too, except for my companion. Her time will come. I know it. She has been very sweet though, and takes good care of me. It's another opportunity to be humbled, that's for sure.

My favorite thing that happened this week was on Sunday. Every week, we have to prepare a five minute talk for sacrament meeting and then our branch president calls on 8 people randomly. I had a feeling I would be chosen this week, and of course, I was. I felt super sick(stupid cold) and because we all have the same resources to prepare our talks in what little Spanish we know....my talk had already been given three times. So, I said a quick prayer and got up and spoke from the heart. The words kept coming, so I kept speaking. It was a really cool experience. After sacrament, we had a district testimony meeting. That was my favorite. It was really cool to see my boys let their guards down and speak from the heart. It definitely brought us closer together as a district and I respect them so much more. It amazes me that I can literally spend all day with these people and I still have no idea what trials they are going through. It was neat to share. 

Katie asked what my favorite scripture was so far in the CCM. I have a lot, but one that stuck out to me was what the one of the elders gave to me after he gave me a blessing. It's Philippians 4:11-13. Check it out. It's pretty great. We also had a devotional on Sunday that talked about Luke 17:32 - Remember Lot's wife. It was a great reminder to look forward, not behind - to give everything to the Lord. It was a good pump up talk. 

Today we went to the temple. It was my second time going through, which meant I went through in Spanish. It was really cool! I didn't understand a lot of it, but what I did, I could feel the spirit. Getting to the celestial room was interesting. I felt like I just mumbled everything, but they let me through. Boom! haha. It was funny. 

Anyways, mi familia, it's been a wonderful week in Mexico and I count myself SO blessed to be here being a servant and friend of the Lord. (John 15:13-15) I love you all and truly have felt your prayers and love. Thank you for your support and humor. I love you, and the Lord loves you!

Pictures!

My comp and I like to take random pictures. She can be goofy with me. The picture of us with the Latino girls is my favorite. We sit with them at lunch and try to talk to them with our broken spanish. They are the sweetest girls and just laugh at our mistakes. I tried to give you a sense of the view..it is breathtaking. Enjoy!

Week 2

So, I can't believe that I'm already going into week 3 on Wednesday. Time flies so fast here. It's crazy. It has definitely been a roller coaster week, but I've learned so much. I forgot to mention in my last email that I went to the temple that morning. It was beautiful! It took about an hour to get there, but I loved the drive. I was really glad to see more of the city. It's crazy and there are these food stands that just tempt me. I want to go explore so bad, but we can't. I also loved leaving the campus for the temple and then coming back to the CCM. It was a testimony builder that really, the spirit is here. We are on holy ground. 

Classes are good and we finished teaching our investigator. It was a great experience. 

Halloween was just another day, but some of the elders in my district got candy from their families so they shared with me. I also learned how to say trick or treat in spanish. Its "me da para me calaverita?" We felt pretty cool saying that to everyone we saw. Unfortunately, we couldn't do anything for the Day of the Dead, but we knew it was happening around us. The city was loud and there was spanish music playing constantly. It was awesome. On our way back to the casa one night there was some party going on and we could hear the music so well. We just stopped, ran into the street, and started dancing all spanish like. We felt a little guilty afterwards, but it was really good to hear music again. I'm glad I didn't bring any music, it's actually not allowed in the CCM at all, but man do I miss it. One experience this week was kind of funny..at least now. My comp is really good at soccer, which we play alot, but I'm more of a basketball kind of gal. I finally talked her into playing b-ball with me. We played a game against some of our favorite elders. She is tiny, but I guarded her anyways. I forgot how aggressive I get playing basketball, and when catching a rebound, I smacked her in the nose with my elbow. She thought it was broken so we had to go the clinic. I felt like an idiot. Poor girl. We went home after and both said prayers that the pain would be taken away. Immediately, her nose was healed. We both just started bawling as we realized how much the Lord is watching over us. It was a miracle. I told her we could just stick to soccer now. 

I've grown a lot this week and I wake up every morning so grateful to be in this beautiful place. The people here are so amazing and I love being with them. I love you all, and pray for you every day. Thank you for your emails, I love them! I will also send some pictures. There is another Elder Homer here and we look a lot alike. It's a bit freaky. We tell everyone we are siblings. It's great. Anyways, we took a picture this morning, but he hasn't emailed it to me, so I will send it next week. 

I know this church is true, and I am so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know we have a loving Heavenly Father who loves us enough to give us trials. I am so grateful to be a part of this work.

Week 1

Let me tell you about my first week in the beautiful land of México.

Wednesday night was really just unpacking and getting to know the campus. Thursday is when the real fun started. Early morning, awesome food, class, orientation. It was actually like the longest day of my life. I was tired of sitting. Friday was so much better. So of course, everything is in spanish here, including class. Try learning spanish while being taught in spanish, that makes it come pretty quick. I love it though, I really wouldn't have it any other way. I'm sorry I didn't call in Dallas, by the way, I couldn't find a payphone. Anyways, three of the elders I flew to Mexico with are in my district. They are so young..and immature..but I love them anyways. I was put in a threesome as I stated before, but I was actually switched around a bit. So, apparently, I was put in the intermediate spanish class and this guy came into class Friday morning and said "Hermana Homer, Hermana Gates, Elder Backus, y Elder Banegas, come with me." In a matter of 10 minutes, I had a new class, new compañera, new district and new apartment. On my second day. I was a little shocked. Of course the Lord knows what he's doing and this change has been the best thing for me. I absolutely LOVE my companion. She is so amazing. We just compliment each other and can work together so easily. I know it won't always be like this so I'm really grateful that I get this experience in the CCM at least. Her nombre es Hermana Gates and she is from St.George, Utah. She will serve in Riverside, CA. She just graduated this past May, but we get along great. 

So Friday, I taught my first investigator - in Spanish. I cannot even begin to express how real the gift of tongues is. I'm so grateful for it. It was a little rocky at first. His name is José. We have taught him 3 times now and just yesterday committed him to baptism and to read el Libro de Mormón. With each lesson, we got better and better. Yesterday, was probably the best lesson we've given. I felt like I was on fire as I testified that I knew the Book of Mormon was true and that I wanted him to know the same - in spanish. Something about that language just makes me so excited to teach. He is really just a teacher here, not a real investigator, but man it sure felt like it was real. The spirit was there and all of a sudden, I was speaking spanish and teaching about the restoration and preisthood, like how does that happen?? It was the most spiritual experience I've had yet. I love my class. There are 8 elders and just me and my companion in my class - and district. We felt like we weren't really clicking with them at first, so I suggested to mi compañera that we write them a note expressing how glad we were to be in the same district and we added Ether 12:27 on the back to give them some encouragement for learning the language. It never seizes to amaze me how much service can make you feel better. They wrote us the sweetest letter back which really helped us to love them and get to know them better. Hermana Gates and I are all about studying and working really hard, whereas they are frustrated with the language so they give up and goof off. We're trying to teach them to be better...

My teacher's name is Hermano Sanchez. He is the nicest man I've ever met. He gives me so much confidence. Just yesterday (yesterday was a good day) he said that I made him proud to be a teacher and that if I kept up the hard work, I would leave the CCM in 5 weeks with perfect Spanish. That's a pretty amazing promise, ya? I'm determined to see it fulfilled.

It's really fun to have a companion so close to the spirit. We literally live our daily lives by inspiration. One of us will have a thought as to what we should study next, so we do it and it ends up helping us in the lesson with José. I love how that works. 

I just really love it here. México already has my heart. Campus is so beautiful. The town is literally built up the mountain. From the window in my classroom I can look out and see these huge palm trees with mountains in the background and these colorful buildings all of the mountain side. I've never seen anything like it before. Night time is gorgeous too. That is one thing I love about the CCM, we have so much room to move around! We have a whole campus and the grounds are beautiful. There are hispanic workers everywhere. They only speak Spanish, so we use them a lot when we need to find 10 people to bear our testimonies to, they are so patient. I would get tired of hearing the same thing from teenagers with broken spanish. haha. They are so nice though.

The food is great, actually! They have the best corn tortillas and pineapple. That's my favorite. It's good mexican food. 

We got to watch a movie on Sunday night - the Joseph Smith movie. It was so weird to watch a movie, but I really enjoyed it. We've had amazing speakers as well. We had a devotional on Sunday and Pres. Allen spoke. He is the Director of the missionary department as well as a 70. He was also the previous mission president for the best mission every - Tempe, Arizona! How awesome is that. His talk was just phenomenal and really pumped me up to keep going. I acutally haven't met one other missionary that is going to my mission. They are going to all the missions around Tempe, but not actually my misson. I guess I´m just special. 

Sorry for the novel here, I just had so much I wanted to tell all of you. I really haven't been that homesick this week. There were two days that I was slightly discouraged because of the language, but there was always something or someone to pick me up. I've never been happier, and I love Spanish and the hispanic people. 

Yo sé que Jesucristo es el Salvador del mundo, y que podemos ser liberados del pecado mediante su expiación. Yo sé que tenemos un Padre Celestial y que Dios los ama. Yo sé que familias son eternidad. Yo sé que José Smith fue un profeta y que Thomas S. Monson es un profeta hoy. Yo sé que el Libro de Mormón es verdadero y que las escrituras son la palabra de Dios. Yo sé que este iglesia is verdadero, tambien. En el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen.

Hola from Mexico!

So, I have safely made it to Mexico! What a journey. The flight it self was pretty uneventful, but I did meet up with other missionaries in Dallas. They are great. There were 4 elders and 3 sisters, counting me. Two were heading to Dallas, two to Cali, two to Chile, one to New York, and then me to Arizona. It was an interesting experience to go through customs and immigration but I made it through with no problems. We all thought we were going to die on the bus ride to the MTC. There were dogs standing on the edge of the roof, men showering on the roof, people walking through the streets selling things, cars almost plunging into you. We had some good laughs. We learned quickly to keep our eyes averted as there are horrible billboards everywhere you turn. As soon as I  made it through customs I saw the sign for the CCM Mexico and right away no one spoke English. haha. I had to tell the immigration worker that checked me "No hable espanol." I felt pretty cool, not gonna lie. It is beautiful here, in its own way. I finally got my name tag! Woot! I feel so official. I am also the oldest person in  my group...everyone else just turned 18 or 19...whoops. I feel young at the same time just because I`m so green. Apparently I will be living in a house and I traveled to the MTC with one of my companions. Her name is Hermana Clegg. She´s from New Jersey, and yes, I talked to her in my "Jersey accent." She laughed, but I don't think she appreciated it. I also have another companion that I haven´t met yet named Hermana Gates. I´m excited to meet her. I´m also typing on a Spanish keyboard and its really weird. I can´t find any of the normal symbols. I am definitely immersed in the language.

Well that´s about all I have to say for now. I love you all so much!