Totes magotes!

Not sure if I already mentioned this, but the latinos in our mission have to learn English, and I LOVE it. We have one hour of language study in the morning. I study Spanish, my companion studies Engish, and we help each other.. but it´s way hard to teach english, so I decided she´s probably just gonna learn slang. This week, I taught her "totes magotes". So everytime I ask her if she wants to do something, like go to the store or eat breakfast with me, for example, she replies, TOTES MAGOTES! with her cute bolivian accent. It always makes my day!! 

This week I went on exchanges with one of the Sister Training Leaders in Mulsay, and it was two days full of hard work, where I was able to learn a lot from Sister De Leon and her example. When we got to her house on Wednesday night, I noticed that there was only one hammock..I awkwardly asked, um, where's your companion´s hammock? She replied, "Oh, she took it with her to your house and thought you were going to bring yours!" Oops. no one told me. So I slept on the ground, without a pillow or blanket. I used my towel as a blanket, kind of.

Lemme tell ya, I´m still catching up on sleep, and that was on Wednesday.

Also, the picture that I attached next to the "Merida" sign of course has a great story as well. Because of the heat, and lack of energy or care in the morning, I hardly ever do anything with my hair or makeup and am learning to just love it. However, yesterday I decided to put on some makeup and my companion told me to curl my hair. so I did! She then proceeded to tell me, "You look like a Temple Square barbie missionary"! Excuse me! (was my response) haha. It was a little funny, and I promised I only hit her once ;)

P.S. Don´t mind the bar in the background..

We had a good week. I began eating chile habanero finally..and am becoming Yucateca because I now put it on everything :)

A lot of different members, including recent converts, worked with us this week and it was great! We had two of our new investigators in the chapel yesterday as well, along with others that we´ve been teaching for a while, something that always brings such a huge smile to my face. When you work hard all week and then they show up on Sunday morning, it makes it all worth it because they´re that much closer to entering the waters of baptism and starting their journey on the path back to our Heavenly Father. I love this work! 

I hope you each have a great week and are taking care of the missionaries in your ward and working with them during the week :) If not, repent and start this week! ;) 

Love you all tons,

Hermana Melody Maki 

And the work continues to press forward in Garcia Gineres!

Woo! The weeks are going by fast, and I'm lovingggg ittt...

In case you people don't know yet, missionary work is the best. It's not the easiest, but there really isn't anything better than to put your cares and worries aside and lose yourself in the service of the Lord. To help other people understand the healing and enabling power of the Atonement and then apply to it to their lives? wow. What's better than that? I had a great first week with Hermana Janco. It's fun to see what things she does different, how she teaches, and then kind of mesh our ideas together and have a companionship that is in harmony with the Holy Ghost. I'm learning just how important that is.

A struggle that we've had in our area is getting the members to come to lessons with us..instead of complaining about how we don't have many lessons with members present, we decided..you know what? We're gonna do something about it. We've gotta change this. There's no excuse to only have 5 lessons with a member present during the week. We can do better than that! Yesterday, we passed around a calendar in Relief Society. It had every day of the week, and a little box for every hour, from 11 in the morning to 8 at night, and asked every sister to write their name in at least one time frame this week when they can come teach with us. I will not lie, sometimes I lack faith, and wasn't sure how full it would be when they finished, but almost peed my pants when Sister Rubi handed it to me, FULL!! And although we don't have a lesson every hour, every day of this week, they can help us contact new investigadores in the street or give us referalls and help us find them! 

"Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together, to work together, to   labor in the Lord’svineyard to bring souls unto Him. He has prepared the means for us to  share the gospel in a multitude of ways, and He will assist us in our labors if we will act in faith to fulfill His work." President Thomas S. Monson

For behold, angels are declaring it unto many at this time in our land; and this is for the purpose of preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time of his coming in his glory.  Alma 13:24 

I have seen time and time again just in my short time in the mission that the Lord is preparing his children all over the world to receive the message of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I feel priveleged and blessed to be a part of His work as full-time missionary. I'm happy, healthy, learning and growing in this gospel. Know that I love each one of you to pieces. I pray for you always and give thanks for the love that I feel from everyone back home, every single week. You all mean the most to me! 

Con MUCHO amor de Mexico,

Hermana Melody Maki :))

Cambio #3

And my 3rd transfer in México beginssssssss!

Today, something sad happened. My trainer, Hermana Tozcano had to say goodbye to me (her first daughter in the mission)..it was kind of hard because she taught me everything. How to plan, how to teach, how to speak spanish, how to wash my clothes, kind of like my actual mom, but for the mission :) She is very special to me and I´m so grateful for the two transfers we were able to serve together. This morning, I met my new companion, Hermana Janco. She´s from Bolivia and is super nice. We´re excited to serve together in Garcia Gineres. I´m glad I have another transfer in this area because I know the members and investigadors really well and finally feel comfortable with the area. 

Something that Hermana Janco told me this morning really hit me, and I wanted to share. She said that there was a time during her last transfer that she was having problems with her companion, and President Garcia told her that every companion we serve with will challenges our faults that our future spouses will have. If we fight with our companion about something or argue about something, most likely it´s something that will arise as an arugement or problem within us and our future spouse..Makes sense...yet another reason why the mission helps prepare you for marriage. There´s always something we can learn from the people we serve with, that´s for sure! I learned patience from my first companion, and I don´t mean that in a rude way at all. Sincerely, she helped me learn to have more patience and to just slow down instead of always being in a hurry. To take a step back, take a deep breath, evaluate, and then keep going. But yes also, in the mornings when she took well over an hour to get ready, I learned patience :) haha

This week was a good one, for sure..We found three new investigadors that are all great, and we're helping three others prepare for baptisms soon, however they keep pushing the date and pushing the date for different reasons..but we're confident we'll have a few pretty within the next few weeks :) I have faith!! 

I´m doing well and really enjoying my time here. I pray for you all back home everynight and love hearing from you! Have a great week :)

Con amor,

Hermana Melody Maki 

Foto- more from Parque de las Americas

Parque de las Americas!!

Hello to everyone! 

Last night I was reading the Liahona with the conference talks from October 2013, and felt prompted as I was flipping through the pages to read the talk from President Monson in the General Relief Society Meeting..Wow..I needed that..Here´s what I LOVED:

"We were not placed on this earth to walk alone. What an amazing source of power, of strength, and of comfort is available to each of us. He who kjnows us better than we know ourselves, He who sees the larger picture and who knows the end from the beginning, has assured us that He will be there for us to provide help if we but ask. We have the promise: ´pray always, and be believing, and all things will work together for your good.´" 

This was so perfect for me this week, because on Saturday I had an interview with my mission president..he was asking me what I did to learn Spanish so quickly. And although I disagreed and told him that I have soooo much more to learn, I told him that all I´ve done is 1) pray. lots of prayer. and 2) speak the language. Just speak spanish, it´s simple! 

But his question really got me thinking...as I reflected back on these first two transfers, I thought about my progression with Spanish. It has improved, but simply because I put it in the Lord´s hands. I prayed for patience, for the gift of tongues, for courage to open my mouth and talk even when my grammar isn´t always perfect. And the help and guidance I have received from my Heavenly Father has been more than I could ever imagine. There´s no way I would´ve been able to learn this much in such a short period of time without divine help. 

But I also loved another part of President Monson´s talk..he said "You will one day stand aside and look at your difficult times, and you will realize that he was always there beside you." The mission is difficult, but He´s standing right beside me, helping me every step of the way! 

This week was a little different, we weren´t able to work as much because my companion is sick. We were in the Doctor´s office two days and the hospital another day...She´s getting better though!  She could use some prayers :) por favor..

Nonetheless, It was a good week and went by soooo fast. Transfers are next Monday, excited to see what happens! 

I am going to attach some pictures we took last P-day at Parque de las Americas. a famous park in Merida...sooooo muchhh funnn!!!

I love each of you, and I love this Gospel! The church is true :)

Hermana Melody Maki

P.S. hopefully I´ll have a cool story to share next week..sometimes It´s so hard to think of something fun to write about, sorry! 

And the tan lines begin...

"Through the years I have watched countless missionaries come and go, and I have seen extraordinary things happen in their lives and in the lives of their families as a result. The work they are called to do is hard and sometimes discouraging. But because they have the assurance that they are on God´s errand, they are able to valiantly serve Him. I often suggest to those who want to know if the Church is true that they spend a few hours working with our missionaries. It doesn´t take long to learn that no one can do all of the things a missionary does every day without knowing beyond any question that what they are doing is right and true. The Lord does bless His missionaries just as surely as they bless the lives of those they teach and baptize. Difficult languages are learned with astonishing speed and skill. Financially strapped families back home find unforseen means to support their missionaries. Weaknesses become strengths, challenges become opportunities, trials become triumphs, and adversity becomes an adventure in the service of the Lord- another fruit of gospel living." -M. Russell Ballard.

woo! I couuld leave it at that and be done..He explains it perfectly.I add my testimony to that of Elder Ballard. I know this is the work of the Lord, that he stands shoulder to shoulder with his full-time missionaries and members are we hasten this work.

This week we had the privelege to teach an atheist! Talk about fun.....it was really hard actually...he made fun of us a lot, and well..it was tough..it´s hard when you put your whole soul into something and testify with power and the person listening doesn´t care, or doesn´t feel anything...after teaching about the Atonement and sharing some very powerful scriptures, with a smile on his face he said, "He didn´t do anything for us. He didn´t do anything for me!" AHHHH! I chose not to be too frustrated though, because I realize that everybody has free agency, that they can choose to accept or reject our message. What made my heart hurt after this lesson though, is that this investigador (Isaac) is so sad. He thinks he´s happy, but it´s so apparent that he´s not. He was married and had a daughter, and for some reason they left. He misses them. Although he has his alcohol and a good job and he thinks everything is fine and dandy, we saw the sadness in his eyes as he talked about how much he misses his daughter. He longs to have his family back. He lacks something in life, and although he wasn´t very receptive to our message, we have another appointment this week, and for that I´m grateful. So many people in this world are sad, are confused..They need what we have. The Gospel of Jesus Christ brings hope, direction, peace, and comfort into our lives, without such, I don´t even know what I would do. 

That lesson was probably the highlight of my week! haha..The sun was probably the worst this week then the 2 and a half months I´ve been here. The tan lines on my feet are wicked, I´ll send a picture :) hope that´s not too weird..

Also, the second picture is of our zone :)

well. I think that´s all for this week! I love you all!!

Hermana Maki 

Also, If anyone wants to send letters, here´s the address. The old one works just fine too, no worries...but they moved the offices so here´s the new one :)

Hermana Melody Maki

Mexico Merida Mission

Calle 70  #521A X 65 y 67 

Col. centro

97000 Merida

Mexico 

Happy in my yellow hammock

HELLOOOOO from Mexico..I feel happy as ever and am enjoying the work! It seems like every week, when I begin to feel a little tired or worn out, P-day is right around the corner and I have just a little bit of time to rejuvenate and get ready for the next week! We had a 5 hour meeting this morning with practices as well, where we were given certain scenarios and then had 15 minutes to teach a lesson..in the beginning of my mission and in the MTC I really HATED practices (role play) but I´m starting to really see the benefits. I also realize that it´s all about my attitude..that if I go into it believing that I can learn something new and benefit from the practices, that´s exactly what happens! I love teaching with other missionaries too because I always learn from their example and how they teach and then take home new ideas of things I can apply in my teachings. I felt like I learned so much just this morning, and it was my attitude that made the difference.

Something great happened this week...I didn´t mention this earlier, but I haven´t been able to sleep in my hammock...at all. It sounds fun, but really it´s not..however, there´s nothing I can do to change that! I will be sleeping in a hammock for the next 15 months and that´s that..however, I asked some advice from my district leader and he, like all of the other elders, bought his own hammock shortly after arriving, because the ones we receive from the mission office are good, but they aren´t very big or comfortable...so he went and bought his own that´s about twice as big....He suggested that I do that as well..but they´re expensive and ain´t nobody got time for that..

Well, what do ya know?? My companion had an extra hammock that a sister in her last area gave her that she doesn´t use.. Mine is a size 7, this one is like 11 or 12, significantly larger, and I can sleep!! Not perfectly, not the same as in my bed, but it´s made a huge difference. She is so amazing that she said I could HAVE it...

It´s the little things. This was small, but I´m grateful to my companion for her kindness and I´m grateful I have somewhere to sleep every night!

This week was super great, we had 4 investigadors in the chapel yesterday and have a few baptisms planned for the upcoming weeks.. My spanish is improving a little every day, and as I trust in the Lord and seek for his help and guidance in this work, I feel his love and his hand every single day. He knows what I need, but he wants me to ask. The same for each of you! He knows your needs! He´s waiting to reach down and help, when we reach up and ask. I love this Gospel so very much and know it´s true without any doubt in my heart. 

I love you all and keep you in my prayers always. Have a wonderful week :)

Hermana Maki. 

P.S. Picture- Me in my new yellow hammock, happy as can be

Let´s choose to be grateful

Another week that literally flew by! This week was a little tough..we have lots of people to teach but no one will keep their comittments or come to church! Easy sometimes to find new investigadors, hard to have progresssing investigadors and prepare them for baptism, but none the less, it was a good week and I´m grateful we´ve got work to do every single day. 

Something that´s really been on my mind this week is not one of our investigadors, but rather, our ward mission leader (side note: my investigadors are ALWAYS on my mind) Anyway, he is a 60 yr. old man, Hermano Alvarado. He is the BEST. He´s so happy. He´s so outgoing, so energetic, just high on life. He talks to everyone in the street about the gospel, and takes a list to the mission office every week with referalls. He comes to lessons with us usually 3-4 times/week (if not more) The gospel is EVERYTHING for him, and it shows. What I didn´t know about him until just recently is his circumstances. He owns a small business from his house, selling cookies. His wife and him are seperated. He doesn´t have much money for food and looks skinnier everytime I see him. His meager home consists of a refrigerator, an oven, and a hammock. Selling his cookies is just enough to get him by day by day. 

I think of the conference talk, "Grateful in any circumstances" by President Uchtdorf. He says "Instead of being grateful for things, [I suggest] we focus on being grateful in our circumstances- whatever they may be." As I try and be grateful in my circumstances as a full-time missionary, I realize that just like President Uchtdorf says earlier in the talk, we must make gratitude a way of live.  "Could I suggest that we see gratitude as a disposition, a way of life that stands independent of our current situation?" 

I can´t just be grateful on the good days! The people here are so wonderful and grateful for the simple, happy lives they live. They aren´t grateful for things, because they don´t have much. But they´re grateful for each new day, for the Gospel, and for their families. I´m learning how to live without things and still be grateful and happy. It´s possible :) 

I love you all and hope you´ll join with me in trying to make gratitude more of a way of life every day :) 

P.S. The picture I attached this week is me buying water! Everyone worries and reminds me not to drink the water, and don´t you even worry! I don´t! We pay 10 pesos (less than a dollar!) and fill up our big jug with purified water across the street, and after that we still have to use a water bottle with a filter that we received in the mission. It was definitely new at first, to have to lug a big culligan jug just to go get drinking water, but you adjust quickly and learn that that´s just what we do here! Love ittttt. 

Hasta Luego!

Hna. Maki