Edificando el Reino: Hermana Roberts en Saltillo, México

Alright I am just about out of time...... but this week was good!! I have so much more responsiblity being a trainer which is both nice because thats more of what I am used to and stressful haha but learning lots as always. But awesome things happened this week and I am just going to copy one of the my journal entries cause it was an account of one more eventful and really good day... "We taught Oscar (NEW INVESTIGATOR) in the afternoon and oh my gosh that was awesome. I have been wondering what that "dang" experience where a perfectly prepared person is just put in my path would happen, and have been feeling a little jipped lately in this way, but it happened. I am afraid to jinx this by talking about it, but I really do think Oscar is perfectly prepared. He has so many questions, but wants so badly to know the truth. He wants more than anything to have faith and he even told us he wants to have a testimony like ours. I was able to teach him all about...

Family!! I have offically finished my first week with my hija (daughter.. new companion)! It was kind of crazy week as we had to travel back to Sabinas from Saltillo and get everything set up and going, but por fin we are getting going.  Her name is Hermana Rebolledo and she is from Mexico City! She is a sweetheart and has a great testimony and seems pretty excited to get going. She told me the minute she saw me, she knew I was going to be her companion. We got to work the day after she arrived (I was sooo nervous) and things went well, but shes still pretty timid. Not to mention, she got sick with an ear infection and one day this week we had to stay in the house for the whole day. It did put a kink in our appointments and such, but I am not going to lie, having a nap and then studying for like 3-4 hours while she slept was pretty great. But oh my gosh medicine here in Mexico is nuts..... I officially have now given shots.... at 1 o'clock in the morning... ...

So right now I am in the offices in Saltillo.. ¿Saben porque? Pues.... I HAVE BEEN CALLED TO BE A TRAINER. I dont really know how to feel or how I should feel haha but yeah, tomorrow morning I receive a greenie from the MTC and will be training her in Sabinas. I am really nervous. I only have 4 months in my mission, and only 3 in México. I came here to Saltillo with a bunch of elders and they are were asking me how long I have in my mission and then they were like "and you´re training already?!? Congratulations!". I do not feel ready, but the Lord is trusting in me and called me for this position, so I trust in Him. Its really overwhelming though, so PRAYERS PRAYERS PRAYERS. I wont find out who my companion is until tomorrow , but she will either be from Mexico or Peru because we only have two new hermanas coming in this transfer. Clearly I am nervous because of spanish.. I am only starting to become functional (although my companion of 11 months tells me I sp...

¡¡Hola Famila!! Another week here in Sabinas, Coahulia, Mexico. We were able to get a lot of new investigators from our contacts the week before and so we spent the week giving what is called lesson zero, where we explain who we are and what our purpose is.. that kind of weeds out who may potentially be interested. We have a couple that look pretty good and quite a few others who I think accepted out of feeling obligated. So we still dont really have too much progression, but poco a poco (little by little). We visited Estella for the last time this week (supposedly last week we dropped her but we had one more appointment) and we decided to talk to her about temples, hoping maybe that would spark a more eternal interest and maybe connect the dots. It actually did go really well and we discovered she hadnt understood that the church is the only church that actually has the priesthood. We had been pretty clear about it before, but I guess not clear enough. Thats some...

This will probably be a shorter letter because I wrote a lot more personal emails this week, but we had a good week! First off... CONGRATULATIONS TO MY VERY BEST FRIEND WHO GOT MARRIED THIS PAST FRIDAY !!!! I LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUU, CONGRATULATIONS!!! Pedro was baptized and I was able to go!! I will see if I can include a picture, but maybe not until next week. He is so sweet and it was a neat experience. My first baptism!!!  We dropped Estela... it was really sad. But actually, we feel alright about it. We taught her last Tuesday and just decided she isn´t going to progress. We taught The Restoration again and even watched The Restoration video, but she just isn´t making the connection with The Book of Mormon meaning the church is true and the only true church of God. She still loves the Book of Mormon and wow, she really loves us, but we decided its just going to be a personal journey for her and in the time and will of God. Eventually she will figure it out an...

BIKES AND BAPTISM! Okay so this week wasn't anything unusually special, just continuing on! But we did get bikes this week which we are super excited about because our area is huge and we spend so much time walking... but I have to say.. my butt is a litttttttttle sore hahah. And we're figuring out the skirt thing.. its quite the challenge.  My investigadors: First off, given the title of my letter, yes... baptism!!! However, not in my area, BUTTTT I am counting it as my baptism because its Pedro!! The older shy gentleman from Rosita that I taught for a few weeks before I was transfered. He is getting baptized this upcoming Saturday!! Techincally he is the baptism of the sisters in Rosita right now, but I am counting him as mine because I am the one that contacted him and pushed to keep visitng him when my companions weren't really focusing on him.. and I taught the first two of the three main lessons and set his baptismal date all before I was trans...

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!! (in Mexico.. clearly) Well what a week... it unfortunately was not very successful... haha but because I took a suprise trip to Saltillo in the middle of the week.... ALONE!!! We were studying one morning and I was getting all pumped to get out and start working and I was feeling good and we had great plans for the day when all of a sudden the mission office calls and told me I had to take care of stuff for my Visa and come to Saltillo.. in like 2 hours. So yeah, and they sent me alone. So this week I conquered the fear of traveling through Mexico as an American muchacha who is still learning spanish... alone. But hey, I did it, and nothing bad happened. And I even got to Saltillo and got a taxi and traveled through the city and made phone calls (in spanish thank you) and got things taken care of. BAM! Clearly they trust me or something because apparently that never happens (sending a sister without her companion... none the less a American ne...

Hola Familia, This week was GREAT!! I could probably say it has been the best week of my mission thus far. I am now working in Sabinas, not too far from my last area, but I feel like I am in a different world almost. It honestly is not that different, but it is bigger and it just feels different to me.. how strange. A lot of it probably has to do with my wonderful companion, Hermana Barnard, as well as the branch here. First, Hermana Barnard. She is from Ogden, Utah and has been out here for 10 months now, the last 3 here in Sabinas so she knows the area pretty well. Her spanish isn't perfect, but its pretty dang good.. but obviously she also speaks English and that has made a huge difference for me. We do speak a lot of English, I can´t lie, but only when we are alone together like in our apartment or walking between appointments. Sometimes I feel a little guilty because before now I have been almost completely cut off from English, but honestly I think this is t...

In Saltillo! Its really pretty there and the weather is great. Quick thought.. I don{t necessarily think in spanish yet, but sometimes I think or say things in spanish before english now. Or when I am speaking to other american missionaries, sometimes I say a few things in spanish. Not often hahaha but yeah. It happens which is encouraging.  Hermana Machuca and Hermana Penara with me   It's so hot here, even the horses are dying....  Just kind of a cool picture. Hermana Machuca and myself walking home one evening. Conferenci a de Las Misioneras

Dear Family, I am SO SO SO sorry about the past two weeks.. I had no idea you did not recieve my emails. I will send them again, but I am so sad you did not get them. Mom and Dad, I am glad to hear you finally got the first of the written ones. Another one should soon follow that I sent about two weeks ago. I am sending this email only to yall to make sure it gets there, but Mom or Danielle, please look up the list of my friends from the previous emails and foward this to them. This week was really good!! I took the ya´lls advice, as well as my own, and chilled out a little bit. I thought I was being patient before, but I somehow was able to figure it out a little better this week and as a result I feel much much better. There are several things that went into it, but it basically came down to RELAXEing. As well as the fact that after time and getting accustomed, things just natural start to become more comfortable.  Okay so I told yall a little bit about ...

FAMILIA Y AMIGOS!! Happy 20th Birthday to me!! (On Tuesday) Crazy... when did I get so old? And then again.. I feel like I am way older than 20 years old haha.  This week was good! I am seeing some progress in the Spanish and ahh the best part of this week was that my companion and I (the other was on splits) were walking through a park where we passed an older man who was sitting on a step facing a wall... I turned around and started talking to him and asked him how he was and what not. He didn{t say much, but I just felt so warmed to him. He reminded me of an investiagtor I had in the MTC. I didn{t care about the spanish or anything, I just wanted to help him feel loved. We talked to him a little about the church and gave him a pamphlet about the Restoration and then sang a hymn. We made a return appointment to teach him at his home. A few days later we visited him and stood outside his little home and taught him a little more about the gospel.. he still didn{...

Buenas dias famila y amigos, This week was a good week! I had a few times where I felt like my spanish was progressing and few times where I felt like I wanted to lay down in the street and give up, but the good news is.. I AM NOT GOING TO GIVE UP!! Haha seriously, wow, I feel like people don{t understand what kind of perserverance this takes and I am not saying I am going at it cause I{m not, but wow wow wow. I love yall though and I want you all to know that I know this is worth it. Sometimes 15.5 more months feels like a century, and then there are times where I think this is going to go by so fast and I{m not going to know what happened. But I KNOW this church is true and I am grateful for the opportunity to share the beautiful message of the restored gospel with other people. Now.. if only I could make people realize how important the message I{m trying to share with them is haha.  So my investigators: We are teaching a woman named Nora who I think is...