Be

First off, I would like to apologize for the incredibly LAME-O e mail I sent last week! This week's will be better I promise.

Bored to tears:

So my last week in Etla was pretty interesting...Hermana Flores got really sick (broncitis) and we spent most of the week with the doctor or in the house resting. She's doing good now (after 4 doctors visits and hundreds of pesos in medication). We couldn't leave the house to work for 5 days. I thought I was going to die. I watched The District twice and The Restoration 3 or 4 times. I washed clothes, I cleaned the house, I made Hermana Flores food and brought her her medication when she needed it. It was hard. I wanted to be out working and teaching and helping people. I had to put all that aside and focus on helping Hermana Flores. It was hard but I did it.

How to kill a cockroach:

So we've already established that the house in Etla has A TON of cockroaches, but Hermana Flores still has yet to kill one. So the other night I attempted to give her a tutorial on how to kill a cockroach. After a few failed attempts she gave up...It was quite hilarious. There I was standing on a chair holding the broom and explaining the proper technique and steps as to how to properly kill a cockroach. She just laughed . And I laughed too. Hermana Flores is learning slowly but surely to appreciate my humor. She is warming up to me. She even hugged me the other day. WOW. Progress.

BE:

I have a necklace that says "be."

Nothing more. Just be. And the other day as we were walking the dusty streets of Mexico, I started thinking about what that means to be something. In this life we do a lot of things, we say a lot of things, we live our lives. But it's one thing to do things and to say things, its another thing to BE something. 

I thought about it. Not about what I'm doing or saying, but who I'm becoming. Everyday I can see the changes. I'm BEcoming a better me. I'm not just going through the motions. I'm not just saying the words. I'm not just checking the box. I'm BEing a better person. I'm BEcoming the person God knows I can BE. I'm not just serving time, I'm serving a misión. And I'm letting it change me.

EXAMPLE: I found 4 of my favorite candies in the fridge. Before my misión I definitely would've eaten all of them without a second thought. Instead I gave two to my comp.

Slow but steady progress my friends. It's the little stuff that counts. And I'm doing big stuff too. I'm changing. I'm thinking of others first. And I'm loving it.

Changes:
Today was changes and I am no longer in Etla (the dear land of NACHO). I am in Tlacolula! It is a DESERT in the middle of nowhere. LOVE IT! But for real. There's tiled floor and a flush toilet (huzzah!). My new comp told me there is scorpions, but I'm not gonna let that get me down! It just adds more to the adventure. My new comp is Hermana Mamani and is from BOLIVIA! how cool is that? So psyched to have another comp that can only speak and understand Spanish because I can learn that must faster. I feel really content about where I'm at and who I'm with. And who I am. Basically I just feel really happy today. I'm progressing. SLOWLY. But I'm progressing. I love Mexico.

FUNNIES/MISC:

-Almost getting attacked by a baby goat that was going WILD (baaaaaaaa). I ran and hid behind a car and everyone laughed at me, but its all good, because I was laughing too.

-walking along our dusty Mexican street and a GIANT snake slithered across it. We're talking anaconda. Haha not really, but seriously this thing was about as long as the street was wide, and it was FAT! Heaven help us

-and for all those who have been asking, the basketball team is doing AWESOME. One of them and their family all committed to a baptismal date this last week. The dad even tried to give me an awkward side hug and I had to Dodge and duck to avoid it (my awk missionary life)

LOVE THE MISSION: LOVE ALL OF YOU!

-Hermana Matesen

*awk = awkward