Hola mi dearest, darlingest familia!
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| First of all - Happy Birthday Max!!! I hope you had fun! |
Oh how I miss you all so. I’m pretty sure this week was the
hardest for missing you guys, not that every week isn’t hard. But boy was this
week hard missing you all. But don’t worry, I’m still happy. :)
So for one thing, one week ago we were in a lesson (yes, a
lesson with the same old man I kissed. They continue to invite us back. Hahaha
– awk, but no worries, no more kissing for me. Dang. Bahaha), but we were there
and all of a sudden we heard helicopters and sirens and lots of scary loud
noises. We went outside to see what was going on (bad idea in retrospect. Don’t
check when you hear scary noises in Mexico) and we learned that they were
looking for a man that is robbing people and especially bikes in our area. What?
It was a little freaky because we looked up and saw the helicopters (3) and to
our right was the feds of Mexico and to our left was our nice little bikes, but
I still feel safe and I’m not too worried, but we do hear a lot of crazy stuff
is happening here in Mexico. There are like 30 students that are sequestered by
the government (?) and everyone thinks they are dead now. Bienvenidos a Mexico.
(Welcome to Mexico.)
We had a capacitacion de zona (training) with two zones and
Presidente Egbert came and talked to us and it was absolutely incredible. We
listened to a talk by President Holland and he talked about why missionary work
is so hard, that many times missionaries (including myself) wonder why missions
are so hard if this evangelio (gospel) is so true. Why the only problem we have
isn’t that of developing pneumonia from being in the water baptizing people all
day long. The answer is because salvation never was easy. For 18 months I get
the chance to feel a small bit of what the Savior felt in his life, to be
ridiculed and made fun of and shut out and understand a bit more of His life.
That salvation of souls never was easy, and that He suffered, and that it is
hard to change. Oh my goodness it was so good. I’ve thought about it a lot this
week. And then we also talked about an attitude of gratitude because it’s
Thanksgiving in the US… (No we don’t celebrate it here, but everyone knows
about it and asks me what is the meaning behind the holiday. I try to explain
it, but I always just end up saying that we eat a lot of food on this day. :)
Hahaha. That’s the most important part, right?)… But Holland’s talk was so
good. Hermana Egbert had papelitos (slips of paper) with questions for
different things that we are thankful for and ours was a person. I, of course,
said my compañera. And she said me and actually cried. WHAT? I had no idea that
I was a good companion and that I actually helped her out. She said that she
struggles a lot with animo (encouragement) and being happy and working hard and
that my excitement and animo por la obra (encouragement for the work) helps her
a lot. Whaaaat? Everyone cried, including me and Hermana Egbert. It was
awesome. I love my comp and am nervous for cambios (changes) next Monday - I
could be leaving my area! Ah! No!
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| Being brave and playing the piano! |
We also had a lesson with a recent convert (Janet) and it was
AMAZING. She started telling us all about the people she is now teaching about
the gospel and her enthusiasm was infectious, and afterwards, I felt like we
could just baptize the world! Have another Noah experience, but where people
don’t die of course. But oh, it’s just amazing to talk to converts who are now
bringing others into the gospel and the work just goes on and on and on. It’s
freaking awesome.
It rained and I didn’t have my handy dandy jacket. (Sorry dad -
what a disappointment) and normally I’m so prepared. But we were soaking wet
and we have a picture of us I believe... but it was more hilarious than
anything. Haha. In the morning it was complete sol (sun) and no clouds. Once
again, bienvenidos a Mexico. (Welcome to Mexico)
I can’t count the number of lessons I’ve taught sitting on a
bucket or on the ground.
We had one day that was really hard. No one. I mean, no one. NO.
ONE. Was home or could listen to a lesson. That morning we accidentally slept
in a little bit (obedience is key here...) and we went from house to house, knocking
and there was no one. Our day was completely planned. Everyone knew we had
lessons planned with them and no one was there. Finally, exasperated, we
knocked on one more door. No answer. My comp and I were doing the whole
not-sure-whether-to-laugh-or-cry kinda deal. A bit of both I suppose. We
started dancing in the street. And then I looked up at the sky and talked right
to God and told him that if He let’s these people answer the door and listen to
us I will never sleep in any---
the door opens. They let us in. We teach a lesson. I put my
alarm for 6:20 in the morning.
Oh how our Heavenly Father has a sense of humor.
Geez.
So my dear family, my desire to be outside and active and quite
frankly, on a river and in the mountains grows every single day. Every Sunday
or conference I doodle mountains and rivers and kayaks and sailboats and knots
and the works. Oh my goodness, I miss it so stinking much. So I have a favor to
ask - can you guys start planning activities for the summer of 2016? Yeah? Gracias.
:) I love you so much and am so excited to run rivers with you again.
Seriously, I dream about that a lot. Funny how that works, huh? I am excited to
backpack and simply be with you again. I love you so much, more than words can
describe!
Sometimes I feel like Walter Mitty - daydreaming about you guys,
or about being active outside, and the like, and then I am supposed to give my
bit of the lesson. Uh, what? Some days are worse than others, but a lot of
times I day dream sobre estos cosas (about these things) and it’s so hard to
focus. Haha, oh Walter... I feel ya.
So a few days ago I saw 4 large people on one tiny vespa and
then we fit 8 large men into one tiny little car - Mexico to a T right there.
I know that my understanding of the gospel is growing. My
testimony is growing and I am learning more and more about the gospel itself,
like, that Noah is the angel Gabriel. What? For reals, right? Who knew... and
my Spanish is also getting better and better every day. When I tell people I’ve
been here a month, they are generally shocked. Haha, wahoo. No longer do people
tell me that I don’t speak Spanish and no longer do I not understand and just
say thank you so much! Bahaha, I am getting a bit more of the hang of it.
P-days are super busy. We wake at, well, I wake up at 6:20am (my
comp sleeps in) and I exercise from 6:30am to 7:00am, then I shower and get
ready. At 8:00am we have personal study. From 9:00am to 10:00am we have
companionship study. After that we go to the store and buy all the stuff we
need and then we clean our house from head to toe in manners I didn’t know
existed. (Squeegees for the floor - who knew?) And then we wash our clothes by
hand and it’s exhausting. Haha, but I love it. We crank up the Motab and EFY
music and have a mini-mormon fiesta with the two of us. Then it’s 4:30pm and it’s
time to write you guys until 6:00pm. Then it’s off to work and teach some more!
We generally have 3 lessons to teach every Monday and then it’s in our casa (house)
at 9:00pm. Yay for P-days.
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| Today we played soccer as a zone. Haha, I sure felt like a gruera - so bad at soccer compared to them. It was way fun though and WE ATE LITTLE CAESARS PIZZA!!! I felt right at home... but it was fun to bond with all the elders in our zone and to be outside and active. Looooveeeeed itttt..... |
No package yet... who knows? I will now start to pray. :) Haha.
My pictures are pathetic this week, I am super duper sorry. It’s
just all the same every week, every day and we are constantly going from one
thing to the next and contacting in the street and ugh... I will do
better.
Music night is this Saturday and I’m super pumped. I’ll let ya
know how it goes and TAKE PICS! :) Haha.
I am asking my companion a ton of questions and feel like I’ve
lived in Ecuador. Haha, it sounds lovely.
To line up lessons, we just ask when the people are free and
sign them up. Haha, it’s not too complex. Sometimes we do knock on doors if we
have time or if we feel inclined to, and generally it’s pretty successful. There
was an orange car in front of a house, so of course I told my comp I ´felt the
spirit´ that we needed to knock on that door, and turns out, it was the spirit
and it’s a lady that’s a nurse and is now a new investigator!
I love it here and I love you guys so stinking much. Every day I
appreciate the little things, like the clouds here. They’re amazing. Not a
silver lining, but an electric pink some nights. Oh, it’s lovely. And speaking
of how it goes, I am absolutely doing great. I really love having a purpose
every day and talking to all the different people. I love biking in the streets
because it’s crazy. There are speed bumps EVERYWHERE - seriously every 200
yards I bet there’s a speed bump. It’s a party for biking. :) I try to jump
them when my companion and no one else is looking. :)
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| Can you find Captain America? |
Hey - could you send me the lyrics to “Delaney Talks to Statues”
and the song that dad sings on the river? Something like “Sailor Man, Where Ya
Gonna Run To? Haha. I was thinking about those songs while I was missing you,
so I was thinking about them a lot, I suppose. ;)
Know that I love you so very, very, very, very much and I am
super excited to skype, and write, and all that good stuff. Thanks for all you
do. When I thank Heavenly Father for my blessings, you three are first on the
list. (People ask me if I have siblings and I tell them well, I have a dog and
they laugh. Then I tell them that my padres like him more than me. Haha, it’s a
good time.) But truly, I look at our family picture every day and thank my
lucky stars (Heavenly Father) for you three, every moment of every day. Thanks
for being you all. Mwah times a million.
Love you to the dark side of the moon and back.
Hermana Anstee :D
P.S.
Oh dad, I love you so much. Tell the boys at the station I love them and don’t tell anyone, but there are maple donuts here. :) Shhhh I might buy one every once in a while. Bahaha. You are amazing dad and thanks for always writing me. I can’t wait to talk to you three on Christmas and to see you face to face! Mwah times a bajillion! Love you so much more than words can describe!
(Your brown-eyed girl)
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