Sorry that I didn´t email last week, just wasn´t enough time.. but the good news is that I have lots to write about today :)
One of my favorite things about Mexico is pan dulce. Direct translation I guess would be "sweet bread." Remember in Nacho Libre the tricycle that Nacho had (the blue one?) They´re everywhere. It´s like I´m living the movie Nacho Libre. Anyway, everyday from 3 o´clock on..the panaderos ride around on their tricycles selling pan, and it´s super cheap. It will probably be the deciding factor as to whether or not I come home super thin, or super...huge. My companion and I LOVE it. I took a picture this week after buying some.
The opposite of that, one of my least favorite things, is probably waking up at 5 on P-day to wash my clothes, in my wonderful 5 gallon bucket! I also took a picture of that. I will be grateful my whole life for a washing machine if I wasn´t grateful before!
Also, I´m going to attach a picture of one of the beautiful sunsets from two nights ago. Merida is gorgeous. It truly is
Quick experience I had this week. On Thursday we received a referral from the mission office and so we called and set up an appointment with him, Wilbert is his name. We met with him on Friday afternoon and it was such a great lesson. He asked us, "so..what is the purpose of your church? what do you do as missionaries? I have a friend who, for his whole life, never believed in God, but he got baptized in your church and is a different person now. He changed his whole life. I went to church with him last weekend. I need to know more." If only you could´ve seen the smile on my face! Wow. As if that wasn´t enough, for the first time, I truly taught without stuttering, without thinking about how to translate my thoughts from English to Spanish. I taught, shared a scripture, testified, and then my companion did, and then me, and then her. The spirit was very strong, we felt it, he felt it, and he committed to be baptized in July. We left that lesson and could hardly speak..it was different than any other lesson I´ve had in these first 6 weeks. I´m seeing the Lord´s hand in my life more and more as I work to help bring others unto Christ.
This week I was reading the general conference talk from Elder Holland in April. I was amazed by his testimony at the end. "I am more certain that those keys have been restored and that those ordinances are once again available through the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints than I am certain I stand before you at this pulpit and you sit before me in this conference. Be strong. Live the Gospel faithfully." Wow. To have a testimony that strong, can you imagine? As I think about this first transfer here, my first six weeks, it's safe to say my testimony has grown a little bit. I´m not sure it´ll ever be as strong as Elder Holland´s, but it´s growing more and more everyday. I´m realizing everyday that being happy is a choice. Being grateful is a choice. So, let´s choose to be happy, and let´s choose to be grateful, that´s what I feel the Lord would have us do and what he wants for us.
I, too, have a testimony that this Church is true. I do not have any doubt in my heart that is was restored by a prophet, Joseph Smith. I´m grateful for the gospel in my life, grateful for the direction and happiness it brings me. I´m grateful I can kneel and pray to my Father in Heaven each and everyday and receive strength from Him. I feel his love and know that you loves each and every one of you as His children. I, too, love each and every one of you and pray for you.
Until next week,
Hermana Maki :)
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