¡Primera semana en Sabinas!

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 the BIGGEST blessing. We still speak spanish together too and her spanish is easier for me to understand because she doesnt have the Mexican accent so I have hopes that I will be able to learn better from listening to her. But in general, it is SO NICE to have someone that I can just talk to and be me without restraints. The week before I started working with her I finally got the point of relaxation and enjoying myself because I think I was just in this world where I was trying to cut myself off from who I am.. so once I freed myself from those binds things were better and then the Lord blessed me with an American companion and wow.. I cant say that I have had a bad day. They weren{t all amazing, but none were bad. And we get along really well and she is a sweetheart. We relate in a lot of things and she is SUPER encouraging. She compliments me all the time, in front of other people too about how good my spanish is for being here 6 weeks.. she told me one of the first days I got here "I don{t know what you are doing, but keep it up.. because it is working". 

Thats the thing.. something happened the day I got here. All of a sudden I was speaking spanish. We started working together and something just clicked. Of course it wasn{t like fluent spanish, but no one was questioning me or acting confused and I wasn{t even thinking very hard. I just listened and spoke. Now, everyday hasn{t been like that and I am getting back to a normal place haha but for a couple days it was like BAM. Hermana Barnard and I had a lot of success this past week and had 5 investigators in church yesterday!! She keeps telling me people that since I have gotten here its been like a different mission.. that she hasn{t had this much success her entire mission. That isn{t to be pompous because I honestly I am not really doing anything, but we were talking yesterday and we truly think this companionship is inspired. I am afraid I am going to jinx it by saying that, but without going into details, she told me that things have been different and better for her too since we were put together. We didn´t have like WOW miracles, but she has told people we are seeing miracles. Its hard for me to see because I didn{t know this area before now, but I believe it. No one expected to have two Americans sisters put together, but I think it is for reason and I thank the Lord everyday for this companionship. Honestly, its not like we are anything super special, but something is different for me and it sounds like something is different for her. We are both having a really good time thus far. :)

Now.. with our investigators... BEAUTIFUL! A man named Javier attended church last week-- just walked in. He was referred to the church by someone that we don{t know and he started attending. So we taught him this week and he is such a sweet man. Probably about 50 and lives alone in... basically a cement box. But if you saw him at work or the street, you would have no idea he lived in those circumstances. He has his clothes nicely ironed and hung in his house and he is clean and very gentlemanly. He told us he believes this church is what he is looking for.. we testified that it is. He has a nine year old son who lives with his mother in another part of México and we focused a lot on how he can strengthen his relationship with him. He walked to church with us yesterday, dressed in white shirt and black slacks, ready the minute we arrived at his house, attended all three hours, and we have another appointment with him this week. He is SO prepared and I pray he continues to find what he is looking for in the church, because I know thats where it is.

We have two investigators named Mere, and her almost husband Enrique, who are preparing for baptism. Enrique still needs to attend church more, but Mere has been to 11 Sundays and is just waiting for Enrique to get divorced (crossing our fingers it goes through today) so that they can be married (they live together) and then she can be baptized here in the next week or two. She has had quite the many trials in her life it is... unreal. She only has one leg due to a tragic accident about 6 months ago and is thus in a wheelchair. But she has the sweetest spirit and devotion. They are probably about 65 years old. Pray that all goes well with the divorce papers this week please.. its been quite the challenge. 

Well family, I love you very dearly. I am coming to love this more. I am exhausted like 100 percent of the time and its still hard, but this is the Lord´s work and I am so thankful to be a part of it. I miss you all, please keep me in your prayers, you are in mine every day.

Con amor,

Hermana Roberts

Favorite scripture of the week: 1 Nefi 21:15-16