November 29, 2011

The baptism!

November 21, 2011

Hi mom!

 

I'm feeling much better, I think I just got sick because I wasn't sleeping well and got caught in that storm. But I'm almost all better now. I lost my voice for a bit but it's back now.

 

Glad you liked that! I was so excited to send that to you! My comp doesn't like cats at all, but she's trying for me. Everytime we see one she goes, "Oh, here comes your boyfriend." Cats find me down here. But I still miss my little girl too, I could use a furry bed warmer.

 

I'm so excited to call! I'm glad i's been long enough that I can really talk some more to you guys. Also I'm learning all kinds of spanish foods and getting pretty good at making them. Actually I tried to make cookies the other day and they ended up like little chocolate sweetbread. Still good, but not cookies.

 

Fun! I love working with the primary president in our ward, she does so much for the ward! It really makes a difference in these kids lives. Sweet! And this way you won't get the chance to blow up the oven again this year. :) Cool, you should send pictures of the decorations! We've been seeing some lights a bit now and it makes us really happy!

 

Haha, i'm excited to see them.

 

Really? He's still dating her then? Huh, it's so weird to think that he could get married before we know it. Yeah I met her for a bit before Danielles baptism.

 

I love my mission president and his wife, they're amazing and they just love all the missionaries so much. We had so much fun with them at the sisters meeting we had. Dad's been super busy running back and forth lately.

 

Thank you for the package and the note! It came just in time :) I'm excited to see your letter!

 

This has been a crazy week but so good! The sisters only meeting we had was way fun. We had some good speakers then workshops! First we got to go through all these clothes, bags, and jewlry that people donated and pick out what we wanted or needed. It was so good, I got a jacket for running in and some new skirts, it's been nice not to have the same six outfits and now I can switch them up a bit. We also made hair flowers, and I got to translate to the english speaking sisters as a sweet older hermana taught us how to make quick easy and cheap salsa. It was good! And I was very happy with my translating skills!

 

All the new clothes must have done something because last Saturday we got proposed to by this old mexican man. We walked up to him and his friends fixing the car and he said (in spanish) "Whoa pretty young girls! How much does it cost to marry you two?" He was around 50. We just told him he has to get baptised first.

 

We're teaching soem amazing people. one is a single mother of three kids and she works so hard to take care of them and her kids are angles. She deserves them. I love seeing them, they always run up and just hug our legs. Also we're having a wedding!!!! They finally went and got their license and this saturday we're going to have the wedding and then the baptism! She's so excited! Also her little boy is so cute. When he see's us he always goes, "Hi church ladies!" He's four.

 

Friday the ward had a thanksgiving dinner for the community and it was so good! We got tons of people to come there and they showed a video of all the members saying what they were thankful for, and of course they had all the missionaries be in it. They also have this tree that's now outside the bishops office with leaves on it and at the dinner everyone wrote what they were thankful for. So cute! All the little kids whose families we teach wrote along the lines of, "I'm thankful for the hermanas" or "I'm thankful for my kigueta and watson". So cute!

 

We went hiking today and it was super fun! We hiked fatmans pass. Someday we'll all have to come down here and go on these hikes, beautiful desert hikes!

 

 Well I love you all and hope you all have a great week!

 

Hna Watson

November 14, 2011

Hi mom!

 

I can imagine this was a rough week for you all. Just a one after the other shock. How are their families doing now? Soon as I can get some more pictures i'm going to send them a postcard. I'm so happy with how the ward has stepped up to support them. That's one thing I've learned is that our callings and the ward are SO important. Missionaries can't do this without them and we're set up like this to help each other and love each other. How's Bones and Connor doing with all this? I love that song, and that was the perfect topic to share at this time. That's another thing I've learned is that God really loves us, and even the little things in our lives he sets up to help us. He wants us to be happy and will take care of the details to help us.

 

Aha, i thought they would! You're going to be great, and there's a talk you should look up called "The Loneliness of Leadership". It was by pres. Hinckely and it was sooo good! It'll be a big change but you're going to do so well and I think you'll find a good balance of friendship and leadership :)

 

On another note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!! I think it might have gotten stuck in the postoffice over the weekend but you should be getting something soon ;) I've been waiting to send this since May.

 

Sweet! I'll be needing that coat because it's wet down here! Got me sick even, but i'm almost better now. The rainey season has started! Yay! And i'm excited to call you guys soon! Hmmmm, I don't think I really need anything really right now, although if you find some good talks any of you I'd love to get a copy. We can't print things too often so if you'd send them when you send other things that'd be great :) If there's anything else I'll let you know mom! Thank you!

 

Thanks mom! I'll send other when I write more, I've been drawing a lot instead of writing, so I'll send some of those too. Yeah my hairs grown a bit, and yesterday I gave myself bangs, did pretty good too if I do day so myself. Actually this week the ward is doing a huge dinner together at the church for Thanksgiving, and we've been invted to nearly every members house for thanksgiving day too. They really really love the missionaries here. Well transfers are in about two weeks and i'm not sure. I'd love to stay in this are with her and honestly I think that might happen, they've been keeping people in areas a long time lately. My comp has been here almost her entire mission. She loves you guys too!

 

This week was quiet but good. We've been visiting a lot of less active members and talking with them. We've found some investigators that way. We've also found some awesome old women. I love talking with them! They're really old and so funny! Sunday we went to visit one and her daught was over. She the matron for the Colonial Juarez Mexico temple and came to see her mom while their temple was closed for cleaning. We had a really cool talk with her.

 

It's been different in our apartment now with two extra people. We have no space! It gets really crowded in the kitchen at times and the firdge is a little small is chuck full of all our food. Plus people ahve been giving us a lot of food lately. But it's fun living with them. Today i'm going to teach them all how to make empanadas. And an Hermana in our ward is going to teach us how to make those huge paper flowers in a week. She's amde them for her job her whole life and they're amazing! She's just maks them all day and sells them t the stores and for weddings and things.

 

Miracles happened and one of our investigators is going to get married! We're so excited and she is she! They're going to do great together and she's so happy that she finally get to be baptized! She's so nice, she has us over for dinner lots, and loves to just ask questions and learn.

 

We had a great week!

 

Thanks mom i'll be carefun, love you!

 

Hermana Watson

November 7, 2011

Hi mom!

 

I heard about everything that's going on in the ward. It was a big shock I hope you're all doing okay. Don't worry about keeping depressing things from me. I have a great support system here and lots of help from God.

 

This week was good. Our investigators are doing really well! One family in particular are incredible! I feel like we just read a verse, the kids ask a question, and the mom expounds on it. She gets this really well and one night as her son (19 years old) was sleeping on the floor she looked at us and said, "I know this is true. It's too organized and makes soo much sense. I can feel it's true. I hope someday all my children will come to know this too." And they're on their way. They really want to learn and I love being in their home. some places just feel good and you can just tell that things are going well.

 

There's two old woman we visit in our area. They're in the ward but the one in 93 and can't leave her bed,a nd the other is 90 and recently fell. So we go and talk and listen a lot. The one is so funny! First five mintues we met her she said, "I don't like gringos." And two of her daughters married them XD But she loves us because we speak spanish.

 

Two more sisters moved in with us this week! It's really crowded in the apartment now and I don't know how we fit everything in the fridge. One is from in the north part of the mission and the other is from the MTC and is waiting on a visa to Ukraine. I told her she should write Darren for language practice. But it's fun and it's nice not to be alone in there anymore. We're having fun introducing them to spanish things.

 

We're teaching so many people right now! We hardly ever get to knock doors right now, we just don't have time to. Lots of lessons but also lots of really solid people!

 

Hey can you send me the rain coat I bought? Monsoon season is starting they say and getting soaked once was enough. I got sick, almost better now though. :)

 

Love you all!

 

Hermana Watson

October 31, 2011

Hi mom!

 

Yeah I missed our party this year but we'll just have to have our own, me and my comp. We'll make treats and watch finding faith in christ or something :) I love those little ghosts! My comps family sent her orange candles so we made a little display on the counter. Send me pictures of the party!

 

Yeah dad told me, that's so sad. I didn't know him very well but I know his family. What a hard thing to go through for them. I'll be writing them soon. Talicia too, this has got to be really hard on her.

Tell me about work! What are you doing different now? Awww she's cute. I show people her picture and they all marvel that she's as old as she is, she looks good! I've got a card for her on the way :)

 

This week was interesting. We had a small medical emergence but it's okay now. We both got sick when the weather suddenly dipped (it's back to it's usual 80's now again though) and we got colds. My comp got pretty sick and had a bad fever, so we got her some meds and she slept most of the morning. She felt better later so we went out but that night she had a fever again so she took some ibuprofin. In the morning she took some more, and about an hour later we learned that she has an allergy to it. Booooooo. She got hives all over her body, though luckily not on her face, and they wouldn't go away, they got worse. So we doped her up on benadryl and while she was out I got to call the mission presidents wife. That was fun, she's really nice. The meds haven't really started working yet although they do seem to help, she's still got the hives. Fun fun.

 

We got to take our investigators to the visitors center last friday! It's beautiful adn they loved it. One less active woman we'd found said she wanted to work towards getting to go in the temple in a year. Her family is amazing! They also had a disply set up in one room that was beautiful! It's was all artwork about Christ. Plus these really cool pictures from Reflections of Christ. So amazing!

 

We've had a pretty quiet week, although I have to laugh because you know it's the end of the month when if members buy you a pizza it's a gourmet meal. We ate like queens :) I love how giving anf unselfish the people here are. One sister in our ward just finished making a wedding gown for a girl in our ward. She's getting married in a few weeks. We were at her house and so she took us back to see it before the girl picked it up. It was amazing! And she did it all by hand and by sight. It was incredible and beautiful and looked very expensive. She told us that as a gift she wasn't going to take payment. This family is very poor and her sewing is how they make ends meet. She's incredible, they all are. Basically I love it here :)

 

We'll be careful tonight, love you!

October 24, 2011

That's so great to hear about all the good things that are going on for you guys. I'm excited to see what happens in the next few months!

 

Still hot here! We had a week of good weather then it jumped back to the 110's again. But it's been slowly cooling since then and now people actually have lawns down here! Hopefully we'll hit winter weather soon.

 

Fun! The missionaries are going to have a little party too. A picnic during the day because it's on our p-day and then we'll hang out in the apartment since we can't go out that night. Send pictures of the party! Crazy how time flies!

 

Hmmm well the only thing I can think of would be a water purifier, the kind you put in the fridge like a water pitcher. Our apartment water tastes nasty! It's drinkable, just a little gross so we always freeze it, seems to help. So that as a christmas gift would be awesome! Other than that I can't think of much. But yeah, sooo nice to have the mail like this!

 

Cool! I look forward to seeing the house when I get back :) Also give Darren a hug for me for his birthday! I'll write him in a bit :)

 

I'm glad we get along too, and I very glad that we didn't get changed last week for transfers! I love this area and we work together very well. I hope to be here for a nice long time!

 

I'm doing good, nothing new to report. It's like my comp says, "Sometimes a mission is just about having a good meal and talking alot." We met lots of people and our investigators are progressing well but otherwise a pretty quiet week. We got a new missionary on tuesday, fresh from the MTC. Listening to him talk I realized that my spanish has gotten pretty good. I can understand pretty well now and can usually say exactly what I mean too. It's crazy how fast you pick it up when you use it all day. My comp is to the point where she tried to pray in English and slipped into spanish without noticing. I pointed it out after and she just said, "Wait I was using Spanish?" We all laughed pretty good about that.

 

The only problem we really have right now is that we could ahve five baptisms tomorrow if people would just get married. It's just not very important to a lot of people down here. They just think they can live together, have kids, and do all the work, and just never actually get married. It's frustrating, especially since half the time it's because the husband doesn't want to comit, but it's like, "You've been married for thirty years, have kids, and grandkids. Get married already!" But the good news is son one of them will get married, as soon as the husband can get his divorce papers from his first marriage.

 

This week I made a basket for our bikes, because it's really annoying trying to get cards out of the backpack on a bike when people are trying to catch a bus. So I took some hangers, plastic bags, and some hot pink zebra striped ducktape and fixed the problem. We have a waterproof basket now and it doesn't look half bad :) I'll send pictures next time of it.

Love you mom! I'll be safe :)

 

Hermana Watson

October 17, 2011 - Pictures!

I found a talent I didn't know I had. Face making. I'm getting pretty good at it.

A cute drawing one of the primary girls made for us!