Close enough to Hawaii sunsets annddd 5 minutes to write

Hola! This week was so fantastico. Hermana Cervantes and I laugh all the day long and love to work hard! Es perfecto! Something I would love to share is the 25 days of service the Church is holding for the month of December, Light the World. It's super awesome! We get to hand out these little cards and the people definitely are more welcoming to hear the message! 

I love you all and will write more next week! 

Thanksgiving with mini Pocahontas

Street Paintings

Volcano Views

Basically the Mexican version of Romeo and Juliet. The Volcano on the left is Popocatepetl, a poor man that is in love with a princess.  On the right is Iztaccihuatl a princess who basically lays down and dies because she can't marry her love. Yep super sad but I love the culture here!

A painting of them

The testimony of a child

I am amazed and continue to be amazed of the children here in Puebla and especially in our ward. They are great examples to me and I can feel their sweet spirits. Hermana Cervantes and I are blessed to be teaching part member families and the children have had huge impacts on their non member parents. 

I have been pondering upon why we are asked in the scriptures to be like children. I think number one is that they know their identity and they don't let anyone affect it. I love the quote by Elder Anderson ¨ While a child's earthly situation may not be ideal, a child´s spiritual DNA is perfect because one´s true identity is a son or daughter of God.¨

Number 2 is that they do their duty, even if it's small. We had comida with a family and the dad isn't a member. He began to eat and his 4 year old son told him to stop. He said that we should always say the prayer and give thanks to God. It was AWESOME ... Now this doesn't mean that these kids or we as a people in general have to do big things to make a difference. I think Mosiah 4:27 perfectly describes what we all need to do. We need to be diligent and work to our capacity. This has been confirmed to me over and over again this week. I wish I had more time to share but I will share this: faith leads to action. 

Something that has helped me is a handout my mom sent me speaking about our mindset. 

Is your mindset fixed? 

do you: 

• avoid challenges
• give up easily
• ignore feedback 
• become threatened by people's success 
• try hard to appear as smart or capable as possible 

What does a growth mindset look like?

do you:

• embrace challenges
• give your best effort
• learn from feedback
• become inspired by other people's successes
• believe you can grow/change if you work hard

I know that the hardest part is the beginning. When we determine what we need to change in our lives, acting on it is the hardest part! I love you all and hope you have a great Thanksgiving. A lady in our ward wants to make Thanksgiving dinner for us. Super excited to see how it goes! 

Hermana Herrera 

Sight seeing and ice ice baby

Hola amigos y familia!

This week went so well. Hermana Cervantes and I are really making some great contacts here in Independencia. Also blessings come in small packages. This week was the first time I've had not only ice.... but CLOSE ENOUGH TO SONIC ICE! It was fantastic!  A lady in our ward had some in here freezer and I can't tell you how excited I was.

Something neat that happened was we had a special broadcast from Salt Lake City. Elder Russel M. Nelson spoke about the importance of teaching our families eternal truths and how the temple brings eternal consequences. This was so awesome and a confirmation of our vision here in Puebla for the missionaries. In our past zone conference Presidente Nelson shared that our vision is to help the people have a temple here in Puebla. This touched my soul because I was privileged to work in the San Antonio temple before I left on my mission. My testimony of eternal families is one of the great reasons for coming here and sharing the Gospel. 

A vision is a way that we can accomplish what we desire and is just with the Lord. It is based upon Christlike attributes, doctrine, and testimony. I know that when we have visions or goals we can receive the strength to perseverar hasta el fin, endure to the end. That's why Doctrine and Covenants 58:3-6 is so important. I love you all and want you to know that I have a testimony that we have a loving Heavenly Father. There is a difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is only for a moment (like eating sonic ice or dancing to Abba's Dancing Queen) but joy is eternal. We can only have joy when we follow the example of the Savior.  Have a great week! 

Your Hermana in the work,

Hermana Herrera 

The Mexico City Temple

Dulces in the Centro

Your Hermana!

The Centro is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
It is very colonial!

Dia de los Muertos Part 2

Hola!

Sorry this post is going to be short and sweet but hey...pictures! Thank you all for your notes of encouragement!

Hermana Herrera

A Glorious Sight! Thank you so much Grandpa and Mamaquel and the Gaspar de Alba Family!

Up to our eyeballs in Dia de los Muertos Bread! It's fantastic!

All the members say we look related.  My money is on the eyes!

Adios Elder Villasenor! You will be missed.
#matchingmedallions#missionariesrule