Eliminating personal husks

And that's a wrap with our first change here in Tezo town!

This week was filled with more service and a lot more sun. The weather is weird here, it's like Texas hot summer in the morning and Texas winter cold at night...

 

We got a call from our ward mission leader saying that a couple of ancient investigators wanted our help to ¨piscar" which I have no idea what the significance in English is... like harvesting corn?  I guess they wanted to see if we were the real deal... We had tried to contact them before and not had much luck so we thought this was a great idea. 

Saturday morning we headed to the fields (which are everywhere here) It was pretty tough work and I cut my fingers a lot but over all a really good experience. The family was SO impressed that they offered us Chela´s, which is a really cold beer. But we agreed on an appointment instead. 

While we were peeling off the husks of the corn I got to thinking about how the atonement can really eliminate some ¨personal hard layers".  This can be bad habits or sins.  I can see that Heavenly Father puts us all in the refiner´s fire to help us be more like His Son. But the best part is that although we will progress and become better we still have our unique spirits. 

Every corn that we husked was a variety of colors. There were so many reds and oranges and yellows. It was awesome!  How wonderful that all of us as children of God are different and unique but we all contribute in a way. The necessity of uniqueness is vital. 

Hermana Ruiz and I had a hard experience on Sunday. On the mission you hear some heart wrenching stories that are hard to hear. We came out of a lesson and Hermana Ruiz started to cry. She told me it was hard and that she felt so sad for the situation of the hermana. She asked me how it was possible to endure when everything around you seems lost. I told her that it wasn't a bad thing to have those feelings that it's actually a privilege to mourn with those that mourn. But I learned long ago that we can't do it alone, we need to depend on Christ like the apostles did during their ministry. And we need to help others do the same.

I love this work and I love seeing the hand of the Lord. I know that He is personally ¨taking away the husks¨ to help us find and live to our potential.

 

Love you all! 

Hermana Herrera 

Our mission leader and service

Our district. Imagine a bunch of Primo Marios

Got lost...per usual but hey we found the Tlax sign!

Stretchinggggg and all the good stuff

Guys fabulous week!

As you may have noticed... the skirts are coming back and the struggle is real. But hey that's okay because obedience is necessary to see some miracles! 

Hermana Ruiz and I are still in that weird limbo where we are trying to get more familiar with our area. The church is true because of revelation.  And revelation is definitely necessary in our planning. I feel like we are being stretched with our faith and trust in the Lord. 

I'll explain... there are a couple of pueblos that are a bit far. Usually missionaries don't really focus on these places because it would be hard for investigators to go to church. But we felt a strong impression to visit one that's about 30 minutes away. We have no records of missionaries working there in the past. While we were there we didn't have much luck with our contacts until we saw an older woman taking a rest before a really steep hill. We asked to help her with her bags and off we went!  We walked  for about a good 40 minutes. I think those hills almost hit the heavens they were so steep. When we got to her house, we were able to meet her kids. They expressed the lack of God in their lives and we invited them to church and they came! 

Then an older couple in our ward accompanied us in one of our charlas and turns out they are cousins that haven't seen each other since their childhood! This was super special to me because it reminded me of my cousin Ryan and his conversion.  He is on a mission in Japan now. Love you Ryan! 

Basically, we trusted in the Lord, acted and He blessed us with more investigators to teach. In the Book of Mormon in Alma 37:11-12 it talks about our need to trust in the Lord  even when we don't understand everything because His ways are not like our ways. There are 3 specific reasons why we need to trust in God found in verse 12.  I invite you guys to read it. 

Best of all Esme got baptized which is a miracle in itself! 

Love you all,

 

Hermana Herrera 

Mom's doing the countdown and Hermana Ruiz is having fun with the board.

How many cachorros can Hermana Herrera hold?

Esme's baptism!!!  She is such a great example to her family!

This is my joy

HOLA FAMILIA Y AMIGOS 

Guys this week was so great! I just want to write an email of gratitude. First of all, Hermana Esmeralda past her interview for baptism. She is the teenager that got the miracle permission from her father. She is going to get baptized this Saturday! 

Today Hermana Ruiz and I headed to Puebla because I had an interview with our mission president. I came out of my interview and guess who I saw?  My old companion Hermana Romero and she looked happy as ever! 

 

Basically I'm really happy and really honored to see so many miracles in my life and others, especially at the end of my mission. My feelings are perfectly described in Alma 29:9 

"I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy."

Thanks for all the support and love,

 

Hermana Herrera

 

till next week to see my face....