All because of a pink bike and saying goodbye to dear life-long friends.

Buenas tardes (good afternoon) mi familia! 

It’s so good to hear about your week and all that’s going on! Thanks for all the pictures and wonderful words. I love you all so much! 

I have a new companion!!! Her name is Hermana Castellanos. She’s from Oaxaca, Mexico (south of Mexico City) and she is lovely. I absolutely adore her. She is seriously one of the sweetest people ever. It cracks me up because I try to make her laugh a little bit, or say something that I think is funny - (usually no one else does... haha ni modo), she laughs a little bit and says ¨Ok¨. And yeah, that’s it. Haha. She is always just saying, “Haha ok Hermana.” But truly we get along great. She has 6 months in the mission - so a little bit more than I do and she’s just a sweet little thing. I love the way she teaches and she’s a hard worker and we are plugging right along. She has 4 step-siblings and doesn’t know her real dad and has some health problems, but is always pretty happy. We had a bit of health issues this week for her, with her stomach, but she’s feeling better now. So yep - I love her and she’s great. 

The baptism for Susana, Marco, and Christina was AMAZING!!! Oh my goodness, I am so happy. It was a little miracle, that it did happen, though... there were bits of drama around every corner. We needed to get the baptismal clothes for them to wear and we always get them on Friday when we have ward council with the bishop. Well it turns out that we went on Friday and there wasn’t a single jumpsuit. (Jumpsuit? What’s it called? I have no idea... but you know what I mean...) so I might have freaked out a little bit. We went early as well, because all 6 missionaries were going to teach the young men and women how to share the gospel with other people - and that, in and of itsself, was crazy. I had studied in the morning and put together a plan, because I felt like I should be a little prepared, because I didn’t quite know what was going on and when we got there, I asked the other Hermanas if they had something planned and they said no... and then we all asked the Elders and... what do you know, they hadn’t planned anything either. So woohoo, the spirit is real and we used my plan - a crappy plan, but a plan. And it was great! But to hear about the baptismal clothes was pretty stressful, because well... the baptism was the next day! Yeah... no biggie. The elders said that they thought they had some clothes in their house and would check that night and then they called us in the morning. And again... no ropa. Shoot. We went early in the morning to wash/clean the font and thank heaven the other ward was there cleaning the church, so I asked the other bishop if we could use their clothes and WAHOO! They had 3! It was a small miracle. We started to clean the font, and we washed it all, but the water couldn’t go down the drain. We tried to open the drain, but it just wouldn’t go down. The Elders finally got there to help and with 3 Hermanos, they opened the drain... haha and we washed and started filling it back up and oh no - we couldn’t close the drain! Aw man... the struggle is real. But the whole time my companion and I were just laughing at how hard Satan tries to get us down, but NO! HE WILL NOT WIN! So with lots of prayer and faith, it shut off and we left with the water running to fill it. It all went great and it filled and the water was warm and people were coming and everyone was there and ready and beautiful and we only lacked one thing - the converts. WHAT?! So I called them and asked WHERE THEY WERE and found out from Marco that Susana had left. Uhh... like what do you mean she left? Where? When? When is she going to be back? I don’t know, don’t know, don’t know... well shoot. Remember how the baptism was at 5:00pm? Well people started showing up around 5:20 (Mormon standard time is true here, but even worse...) and they came at around 6:00pm. Oh man... I’m sure they just wanted to make it all the more suspenseful, so it was all the happier when they showed up. Yeah... we’ll call it that. :) Haha. But they came, got baptized, and SO many people came to support them. It was amazing. I was thinking during the week that if we call people beforehand and assign things like prayers to a single member of each family that we will have more support and boy did that work! It was the fullest it’s ever been! All the way to the back, so that we had to run and get more chairs! It was awesome. The spirit was so strong, you could just feel the hope and love that this gospel brings into people’s lives. Christina, who is 8 years old, shared her testimony and said that she felt like God was baptizing her. Whoa. And each one thanked us for getting to know them. Wow, it was an incredible experience. And to think, it all happened because of a pink bicycle. 

So the people in my district now are as follows - Elder Muñoz and Elder Fox (Elder Fox doesn’t speak a word of Spanish and is my friend... I’m trying to help him to feel better and more confident. He’s great. He’s from California) and then it’s Hermana Tuz and Hermana Bailey and finally the two of us. It’s an awesome district and it’s been great so far. 

Elder Fox and Elder Munoz

Hermana Bailey and Hermana Tuz

Hermana Anstee and Hermana Castellanos

But it is weird to not be with Hermana Ortiz. The first night I just wanted to call her and tell her everything that happened with everyone and how great things are going, but I couldn’t. It’s been really weird to not see or talk to her. I miss her a lot. 

Hermana Ortiz with her new companion

Elder Camaal with his new companion

Hermana Guerrero and her new companion

That’s pretty much my week! It’s been so great. I love my companion and I love the mission, love the area, and the president, and just love it all!

 

     

I’m so happy to hear moving is going well and that you’re finding all the little evidences of my weirdness... ;) Haha! 

For the ward newsletter, please tell them that I say: “Estoy feliz. Dios nos ama. La iglesia es verdadera. les quiero mucho. Gracias por todo su apoyo y amor. Me extraña helado.”

Google Translation…"I am happy. God loves us. The church is true. I love them very much. Thanks for all your support and love. I wonder ice cream.”

***Tammy's note - Not quite sure about the “I wonder ice cream” translation. Haha.***

Well, that about does it.

I love you all so very much! You mean everything to me - even if Buddy is a little weird and maybe the other members of the family as well... ;) Ah just kidding, but I love you all, just how you are. Thanks for all your love and support and all that you are and do. I sure hope you are all happy.  Have a fantastic week and know that I am always praying for and loving you!

Lil J

P.S.

Dad! Oh how I love you so much. You are the best ever. You know that right? 

I’m so glad to hear about Sam coming and helping with the move.  He’s such a good guy. 

Everything here on the other side is so great. I truly am so happy and learning and growing so much. It’s such a blessing to be here. I miss you like crazy. Almost, only one year left! The 11th of April is when I’m coming home... going to live like crazy, because time is truly flying (like the wheels of my bike;)) I want to just hold on to every moment before it goes flying away. But one thing I’ve learned - another moment always comes along. It’s so amazing to be here. I’m so grateful. 

I love you so much and thanks for being my dad.

Missionaries who have fullfilled their callings and are going home this week.

They have a going away party with President and Hermana Egberts

Hamburgers and ping pong!

President Egbert's parents came to Pachuca to visit. They love the missionaries!

Training day for a group of Elders.

Changes, tons of emotions, fist bumps, amazing people, a fake hit, twinsie dresses, and congrats to Dani and Nick.

Que tal familia?!

This week has been nuts, but overall the most exciting thing I have to say is that we have CAMBIOS (changes)! I’m going to have a new companion mañana (tomorrow:)) and I feel so, so, so weird. 

I don’t even know where to begin with the idea that we are changing. I am going to stay in my area, which is still the same area that I have had for four and a half months. I will compañera mayor - (I think it means to be a head companion?) and I’m more than a little nervous. I am going to miss my comp so much. It’s crazy that after four and a half months of living 24/7 with someone that tomorrow you aren’t going to see them and maybe never again. It’s so surreal. In our district, my compa, Elder Caamal, and Hermana Guerrero are all leaving and that leaves Elder Muñoz, Hermana Tuz and I with new companions. It’s SO WEIRD and I’m not quite sure how to feel. When my comp and I received the news this morning, we definitely cried a lot. She truly has made part of my patriarchal blessing come true by saying that some of my companions will be my very best friends. I’m going to miss her so stinking much. 

This is the Reyes-Monzon family and they are our friends. It was the dad’s birthday, so we bought a cake for them to celebrate. :) 

So we are going to have 3 BAPTISMS THIS SATURDAY!!! Oh my goodness, I am so excited. They are Susanna, Marcos and Christina. A FAMILY!!! Well, except for the husband, who wants nothing to do with us, but hey - this family is one of pure gold. It truly blows my mind. I remember how we met them, in the street knocking on a less active family’s door (who NEVER answers...) and she came riding up on her bike with her daughter behind her standing on the wheels. Her bike was pretty sick with pink wheels and spokes and everything, so I told her that I liked her bike. We started talking and she was amazing! We presented ourselves as missionaries and she gave us her address and we returned to her house and that was that. She told us in the very first moments that she knew that this was going to be something good. The spirit touches her heart like none other and her whole family is amazing. Susanna is now 40 (her birthday is today), Marcos is 13 and Christina is 8. And may I just say, Christina is amazing. She is so close to our Heavenly Father. One day we went to her house and we were going to read in Alma 32 and we found out that she had already read it! Whaaaat? Yeah, 8 years old! And another time we asked Marcos,”What is one of the greatest gifts God has given us?” He said his family. Oh man, they are little angels here on earth. I feel so lucky to know them. Get ready for the pictures to come... :) 

This is a little girl in our ward who drew a picture of us missioneras. She’s seriously so cute. She’s a little chubby girl who is far older in her mind than how she looks. She will ask us about cambios and our lives and tell us about stories that are interesting and it’s incredible. The people here are amazing. 

Oh! My talk went really well, well, I think. Haha. I started out by saying that when the Hermano asked me to give a talk I said absolutely, but with how my Spanish is, who knows if anyone will understand me. So I told everyone that if they don’t understand it doesn’t matter, to just nod their heads and tell me that my talk was good. Hahaha. People laughed a little bit and then I talked with a Hermano that is a good friend of mine who told me that my talk was really good, that he understood about half! Bahaha. I fake hit him a little bit. :) I feel so lucky to stay in this ward and area with so many incredible people. Oh and another fun thing about yesterday - I found out Saturday night that I would be accompanying Hermana Guerrero on the piano in sacrament meeting while she sang, so without any practice we just winged it and it turned out pretty good! 

Oh and our twinsie dresses were just to be cool for a baptism. :) Haha - yeah Walmart!

These pictures are of an awesome couple who got baptized. This family is amazing. Their son, Bryam, is one of my good friends. We don’t shake hands - we fist bump and he’s so great. He is always up to accompananos and talk about great stuff. I love him. He got baptized about 5 months ago, before his parents, because they weren’t married. It was a whole ordeal and they were about to be baptized a few weeks ago, but they broke the word of wisdom with coffee. But FINALLY!  Finally they got baptized and it seriously was such an amazing spirit. Every baptism is like the first, the spirit is so strong and every baptism is special, but this baptism was something else. You could feel the repentance this couple had done and the incredible importance baptism had for them. The dad, when he entered the water, just started crying and the brother that baptized him started crying as well. And I might have cried a bit as well and especially when the son bore his testimony and said that now our family can be eternal. Oh man... the church is true. We have had so many incredible experiences and I feel so grateful to work hard every day to bring people into the gospel. I love being a missionary! 

Well that’s my week! I’m so excited to tell you about the next week with my new comp and all the new stuff! I love you all to pieces. Congrats on starting the move! I’m cheering you on from way out here and tell Nick and Dani a big congrats for me! They sure are going to have a ton of blessings thanks to that. What a fantastic Valentines Day gift. 

Oh! I GOT THE PACKAGE!!!! Thanks for all the stuff! I was in desperate need of contact solution and my comp and I loved the sweets. Speaking of Valentines Day - ours was... another normal day. Haha - happy single awareness day! Wahoo! Haha. Nah it’s great and I love being here and truly devoting myself in the work. It’s such a blessing. 

Ok, I love you so much! Thanks for all the pictures - I love all of them. You are the best y feliz dia de amor y amistad (and happy day of love and friendship.) Mwah!!!!

Hermana Anstee :) 

P.S.

Hey Dad! Yep, new comp tomorrow! I’m nervous, sad, excited! Oh just a ton of emotions. I can’t quite believe it. Yeah, we finally have water and all is good and I am so excited that you’re moving. Has it been good to move? It’s weird to think that I won’t come back to the same house and neighbors, but I know that this is going to be something great and I’m so excited for you guys. You are my world, my hero, and I love you so much! Good luck moving! Te amo! (I love you!)

A moment of joy, the power of a smile, happiness is a choice, "Small and Simple Things."

Hola Mi Familia!

It’s so good to hear from you and see the pictures and have the great chance to write you all. I am always looking forward to Mondays, because I get to hear from you and share some pretty neat experiences that I have here in the mission. It truly is amazing and I feel so grateful for the chance to serve. Oh and to let you know, I’m totally better from my sickness and all that. Gotta love that the answer to feeling bad is work! :)

This week was really great! My comp and I are getting along really well and we are having fun working hard doing the Lord’s work. This week we had a reunion with all of our zone and President Egbert and it was amazing. The theme was ¨Small and Simple Things¨. One thing that happens is that each of us are assigned to prepare a small talk to give in front of everyone about the theme, with scriptures, and all, but we don’t know if we will actually be asked to speak until 1 minute beforehand, when the President calls us up. And guess who got asked to speak, this girl. Yep. I gave a talk in front of two zones in Spanish, and boy, was I nervous! But I loved the topic, because if there is anything, or anyone, that is small and simple, and doesn’t know all that much, it’s me. Haha, so I gave my talk and it went swell. And, a few days later, one of the counselors in the bishopric came up to me and asked me to speak in church! OH MY GOODNESS. I’m freaking out a little bit, so next time I write I will have spoken for 15 minutes in Spanish, in a Spanish ward. Woohoo - wish me luck! (I’m actually pretty excited. I told the counselor that I sure would give a talk, but I couldn’t ensure that anyone would understand it. Haha...)

Tecamac Zones

Being taught the value of exercise

I had a really cool experience a few days ago. There is a street that always has kids playing in it and we are friends with all of them. I was riding my bike to enter into the cerrada and one of the little boys dropped everything he was doing and started running toward me from the end of the street and just hugged me. Oh man, it was so great. Then the other kids followed his example and hugged me too. It was fun. And I noticed that all the little kids were playing with those toys that are the same as the ones I bought in Peru for my little cousins - the spinny things with a cord, and I forgot what they are called in English... but the kids started teaching me how to use the the trompo (spinner) and how to play and all that good stuff. It was so fun. All of them with their little toys, and laughing, and it was just a moment of joy for me - so great!

 

Doing splits with Hermana Guerrera

I am learning the power of a smile and how it can change people. My comp doesn’t smile all that much and can look pretty intimidating, just because that’s how her thinking face is. So when we are contacting in the street, people sometimes will look at her and not want to talk, but when I come up with a smile on my face, they seem to be willing to listen. I’m not saying that I’m the answer to prayers or anything, but people sure open, and soften up, when we smile and show our love in this little way. 

One other thing that I was doing this week was re-reading my Christmas gift - the book of quotes. I was just thinking about how happiness is a choice. As I read the quotes from all of the women and thought about how each one of them - and each one of us - have problems in our lives, but we can overcome every single one. I thought how I have seen each woman, who is in the book, smile and laugh, and how happiness truly is a choice. We can be surrounded with problems, but we can laugh in the face of sadness. We can keep moving forward, because it’s all a choice. Yeah, sometimes we feel sad, and beat up, and that’s ok, but it truly is a choice if we want to feel stressed or sad or mad or frustrated in any kind of situation - it’s completely up to us. It’s like the quote by the wife of President Hinckley – “We can cry or laugh through life, and I prefer to laugh, because crying gives me a headache.” Haha, I love her. I also thought of a quote that says that, if there are things in our lives that we are sad and unhappy about, that we should change those things, but it says that if we can’t change those things, we should change our attitude. It’s been really good for me to remember when things get tough to stick to it and keep going on. 

I am so incredibly happy that I have the chance to be here and work and meet people and teach this gospel! It’s truly life changing. 

Here's some fun miscellaneous photos...

 

Learning to cook mom!

I am really excited about the new house! How goes moving?! Oh how I wish I could be there to help. How are you two, happy and healthy? Do you know I love you so much? You’re the best and I’m so grateful to have parents like the two of you. MWAH!

Happy Valentines Day and know that you are always in my heart forever and for always.

Your Little Girl,

Hermana Anstee :)