I am falling in LOVE with the old people here. I LOVE THEM. They usually don't have any teeth and they're all about 4 feet tall. They are so tender.
This last week we went to visit our dearest old people Lidia and Ezekiel. I knocked the door and when Lidia opened it, I threw my arms open wide and yelled "Abuelita!" (an endearing term that basically translates into grandma). She took one look at me and burst into tears. "Mi hija, mi amor!" (my child, my love) she sobbed. She told us she had been praying all day that the Lord would help her. She has a mountain of health problems, the poor thing, and she suffers a lot physically.
She told us she felt as though the Lord had forgotten her. That he had left her alone to die. Then we showed up. We yelled a nice lesson to her (she can't hear very well). The spirit was so powerful as we testified of the power of The Book of Mormon. We gave her one, and she cried some more when we told her it was for free. I hugged her good and tight, and she cried and kissed my cheeks. Oh how I adore my Lidia.
Anita, our dearest friend and investigator for weeks and weeks and WEEKS had doubt after doubt. Mostly about The Book of Mormon, but about other stuff as well. We worked through her hard questions of why and how, and last week we finally made a breakthrough!
We've been telling her and telling her and telling her, to ASK GOD. He knows where the truth is and he can tell her. She finally asked. And guess what. She got an answer. She felt a peace, a contentment, and get this, she had a DREAM that she was a member. WHAT? We invited her to baptism and she said YES.
She is to be baptized 21st of June. She is such an example to her whole family. She is going to lead them all to baptism I just know it. She has such potential. She is so strong and brave. I love her so much. She told us about how for years she was listening to all sorts of religions. And how we're different. She told me she remembers the first time we came and visited them. She told me she was upstairs in her room and she heard someone laughing. She came down to see who was having so much fun and she met me. Sometimes being really loud has its benefits.
Followed up with my dearest basketball team. We have appointments with all of them for next week and taught one of them last night. Love them.
climbed a tree
Sometimes I think back on all the mission prep classes I took (three sets) and all the books and blogs I read (too many to count) and I realized that there is absolutely nothing in the world that can properly prepare someone for a mission. Serving a mission is REALLY hard. Serving a mission is REALLY wonderful. Personally, I think all those backpacking trips my Dad took me on were the best mission prep.
I remember so clearly trekking through the high Sierra mountains with my heavy load and feeling like I literally could not take another step. I remember feeling like I wanted to throw my backpack on the ground, sit down on a rock, and give up altogether. Sometimes on the mission I feel like that.
I've felt like throwing my heavy bag to the ground and giving up or just having a good cry. But then I thought back on why I kept going when I was backpacking. I kept going because I wanted to make it home. I wanted to be where it was comfortable and warm. I wanted to be with all of my family. And for that reason I kept walking. And for that same reason I keep walking here in Mexico.
I want to make it home. Home in Heaven. With my family. And this time I'm not alone. Its not just about me. I want to make it home, and I want all of Oaxaca to make it home with me. One step at a time. One more step, I tell myself. One more lesson. One more day. I can do this, I tell myself. Podemos hacerlo, I tell my companion. And for me, thats the trick. Keep walking, keep teaching, keep loving. Because we've got to make it home. We've just got to.
Def ate a chicken foot this week and am dying because just about everyone were teaching has puppies.
FUNNIES:
-Ate a chicken foot this week. What whaaaat. Totally tasted weird but I told the lady who made it that it was delish and she almost gave me another. Whew, close call.
-Me and my comp have been talking all week about how we miss Cheerios and how sad it is that there aren't cheerios here. We were walking down the cereal aisle today and there they were. Like a shining beacon of hope. Cheerios. God loves us.
-Been making green smoothies and finally got Hermana Flores to try one. She liked it. BOOM.
-A mouse ran through our living room and we both screamed and jumped onto a chair clinging to one another. Then we laughed. Really hard. I really do love Hermana Flores and even though she thinks I'm totally nutty, I think she loves me too.
-Almost died this week by way of fan. We have a super old fan that's being held together by an old shoe lace and we turned it on while we slept because we were DYING of the heat. I guess in the middle of the night it broke in half and exploded with sparks and fire. My companion told me I rolled over, unplugged it and went back to sleep. I don't remember any of this. We now have a broken in half fan that's half melted hanging out in the corner of our room. Totally almost died, and I didn't even know it. Beware of the sketchy Mexican fan. Beware.
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