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!

October 17, 2011

Love you! How's everything going for you guys?

 

I'm doing good here and things are going very well in the work.

 

I can' believe that half a year has already gone by, that went by way too fast. I was just writing to Elder Spencer and his request to extend was denied so he'll be home in Dec 15th. He's a little bummed about that, he doesn't want to leave yet. But he's excited to work while he can.

 

Nothing much happened this week really, I'll add more details in a letter to all of you, but you should all go and make a profile on mormon.org. Have you seen the commercials yet? Or the billboards? It's really cool! Go and watch all the videos on there, you'll love them. But especially the ones of Rose, Vance, Allan, Paris, and Cassandra. But they're all soooooooo good! Go do it!

 

We went knocking on doors alot this week, but over all it was quiet.

 

Well I've got some pictures for you all! Love you!

October 10, 2011

I'm doing really well, we had a great week! I missed you guys too, I went through my letters from the MTC and loved reading them again :)

 

From what you two say it sounds like things are going really really well for you all at home! Wow! That would be amazing if he could get that! Sounds like things are just as busy for you too though! Are you thinking of stepping up or do you want to stay where you are for now? That's sad but I'm sure you two will have fun get togethers later on as well :)

 

Bones is cute! She's always been so against dying her hair, I definatly want a picture! I think it'll look super cute on her! Yay for getting brave! It's good practice for when she goes on a mission ;) Sometimes you just shovel whatever it is down with a smile. I like what a mission president said, "There's no growing in a comfort zone, and no comfort in a growing zone."

 

That's awesome about connor! Where does he want to go or does he know yet? That would be so good for him and he would love it! He's really growing lately.

 

I'm really really happy to hear that. I just know that this work is going to bless so many people and I'm so happy that we're seeing the blessing for our family coming. By the way do we have missionaries in our ward serving there? If so you should go out with them, it's a blast and we really love it when members come with us. Tell everyone hi for me and thank them all for their support and prayers!

 

I miss you guys too, but I like how Hna Kigueta said it, "Ever since I left my family I've gotten closer to them than ever." I really feel like that. I love getting to talk to him too when he can, it's nice to have a little chat with him :)

 

Thank you for all the love and boxes! I really appriciate it mom!

 

Hna Kigueta has been teaching me how to write poems more often and I'm finding some good ones. Bit of a growing zone for me, but she's teaching me to share them a bit more. I have a poem for you guys. I was thinking about one of the girls we taught. She has had a really hard life and just had another upheavel. She's in Cali right now and we just hope that she stays with the gospel, it's the only thing she can count on with the father she has. 

 

Sobs wracked her frame as she mourned for her pain.

Sitting on her heels she felt the weight of this heartache crush her into the floor.

She couldn't do this alone.

She wasn't strong enough to live through this.

She'd feel lucky if she could just survive.

 

Oh my child, I said softly, why are you trying to do this alone?

Look up and see where you are.

 

You sit on your knees pleading for support,

not realizing that you're resting your head on my knees.

 

You cry for comfort,

but I've had you in my arms all this time.

 

You hope someone will help,

I've already planned for your escape.

 

So why do you suffer so?

Look, take my hands, feel the marks.

Remember that you are mine,

that I've already paid for your pain.

You don't need to suffer so.

 

Daughter be of good cheer.

I am with you and will carry you through your trials.

 

Oh my child, if you would only let me.

`````

  

Any snow yet? It's 75 right now outside. We had a sudden switch and the heat is gone, now it's a little chilly in the morning but nothing bad, and wonderful during the day! Although the sudden change got my comp sick. She's slowly getting her voice back. Made it hard when she couldn't talk at all so I ended up teaching most of the lessons. It was good Spanish practice.

 

A boy got baptised this weekend! He's a really cool 11 year old and was so excited all this month to get baptised. I like the way he put it he said, "I feel like I'm in a big warm quilt!" Awesome kid and he really has a hunger to learn. He told us how he reads his BoM under his covers with a flashlight. Cute!

 

It's been an odd week. Sometimes you go out fishing all day and don't catch anything. Sometimes that goes on for a week. But we somehow managed to make our goal of 5 new investigators for the week. But even when no one wanted to talk we had a good time! One woman answer the door after we knocked on her window (the door was painted and didn't make any noise) and yelled, "IS THAT HOW YOU KNOCK ON DOORS?!" Us, ".....no? The door didn't make any noise." She yelled a bit then slammed the door. We left and Hna turned to me, "Is that how you knock on doors? Didn't your father ever teach you?" Me, "I never had a father!" I love tracking with her, we have so much fun! Also chiuahuas hate me. Hna can walk right by them but the minute I try they freak out. However any stray cat near by runs over to me for some love.

 

This was a great week over all! I love you all so much!

 

Hermana Watson