Pictures of Transfers and Sister's Conference

Hermana Hernandez and I at the bus station during transfers.  Next to her is Elder Cano, who I finally met.  His dad and my dad were companions twice in the Mexico City East mission and now we serve in the mission next to theirs.

My generation at Women's Conference

Birthday wishes completed!

Hello all! 

Lets just say that all my birthday wishes came true! I loved every second of it. Thank you all for the birthday wishes as well!

  

Have you guys heard about the #Princeofpeace video that's on Mormon.org? It is absolutely beautiful and you guys need to check it out. During this time of the year, we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ; that He overcame death and lives for us today! It includes 8 principles that we can apply in our lives to have more peace. 

I think one of the most devastating and common things here in Mexico is that everyone knows about the death of Christ but they don't know or understand that He died personally for them. One of the most beautiful experiences I have here is when our investigators or anyone knows for themselves that Christ is their Redeemer. During this time and every day we must let Christ in our lives so we can find that necessary peace. I love the scripture in Alma 14:31:

¨Yea, I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you." 

There is the promise, you will IMMEDIATELY feel that peace you are silently looking for. Trust in your Father and His son. They know what's best for you and know what you need. I have experienced this over and over in my life. I'm so glad that the Lord is patient and loving in all things. Also that He sacrificed for me so I can come on a mission and preach His word. 

Alberto got baptized on my birthday and the effects are immediate! He is so happy and willing to serve. He is currently helping us with an investigator that has a problem with alcohol as well. It is really cool because he is not ashamed to talk about his past. He´s eager to do so to show people the other side. I think that's how the Atonement works in our lives, that we see our mistakes but not with guilt but a progression. 

When I look back on hard experiences, I can always see the Lord´s hand in my life. It makes me feel so good. God is so good. So when you are feeling down or  distracted, reflect and express gratitude. You will always see His hand in your life. It is that peace that makes all the difference! 

I love you all!

 

Hermana Herrera 

p.s. Don't know why but I'm having major problems sending pictures. We are on a quest to find a new cyber! 

Las mañanitas and the miracle of hope

Hola familia y amigos!

This week was fantastic with lots of many miracles! As missionaries, we all have those days where it's just a little difficult to find new people to teach. It seems that the world is just a little too occupied to hear a message from Heavenly Father. These can also be the best times because that's when you really depend on the spirit to guide you to find those children of God! 

That's what happened to Hermana Galicia and I this week. One day we got to the point where we were absolutely exhausted climbing streets to our appointments which just couldn't squeeze in the time for us. So that's when you kind of humble yourself with the attitude to do what the Lord wants us to do that day (remember temperance, still learning). Anyways we were walking down the street and I took advantage of a opened door of a house. I poked my head in to find a single mom and her children. We introduced ourselves and the message we share. Her faced lit up and she was so excited to talk to us. After sharing a quick message we scheduled an appointment for this past Sunday. 

As we entered, she began to explain how long she has been waiting to talk to us. She´s had a very very hard life with an ex husband who just didn't agree with religion. Since she divorced her husband, she has felt that it's the time to have Christ more in her life. It is amazing because from far away, she could recognize that we are representatives of him! We are so excited to work with her and for her to have the blessings of the Gospel. As we left, I got all teary eyed and everything that the Lord has confidence in us to help his lost sheep and what a privilege it is. 

The mission is hard and there are struggles but I think 1 Peter 3:13-15 describes why it is worth it: 

¨And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.¨ 

You must never be discouraged because people need to hear of the hope that is inside you. My invitation is to pick up your chin and offer a prayer of gratitude for your trials. You may not see now what the Lord has in store for you later. Trust in His wisdom and keep sharing that hope! 

In other news, Alberto passed his interview and is scheduled to be baptized on my birthday! So excited for him and I'm still amazed with his progression. This week in our district meeting, I entered to a great birthday surprise! They had pizza and cake for the birthdays in April.. they sang las mañanitas and everything. It was super great. 20 seems really crazy but I'm still warming up to the idea. 

Love you all! 

Hermana Herrera 

Thoughts of a 9 month missionary

Hello!

Wow, I cant believe that I'm 9 months into my mission. It's true what they say, ¨The days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days.¨

I decided that I would write down 9 things that I have learned living here in Mexico:

1. When you arrive in a new area, always ask the members where the non-dog taco stands are

2. If people forget your name and go with the ever close second Hermana Trump just go with it

3. When a dog bites your companion, try to find the biggest rock to scare it away

4. A combi (van) will never stop completely, therefore call on your inner 8th grade hurdling experience and sit as fast as you can

5. Never EVER deny second helpings at meals

6. The best washing is hand washing everything

7. Arroz con leche popsicles have my heart

8. When climbing up tall hills for lessons, think SI SE PUEDE

9. Love the people with the same love that you have for the Lord

I think one of the most impacting and wonderful experiences I have on my mission is seeing true Christlike love between members, non members and less actives. For example, we have an investigator named Jose Lopez. He has been living on his own since he was 14. He earns about 25 pesos everyday which is a little more than a dollar. Before we met him, he didn't know who Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ were. A month later, he goes to church with us on a regular basis. He also has a great relationship with the members and is preparing to be baptized at the end of April.  We passed by for him to head to conference and then we stopped at a member's house.  Hermana Juanita ( the sweetest lady that you will ever meet) greeted Jose with a huge smile and said ¨Jose it's so great to see you! We are so happy that you are coming to church with us! I ironed a White shirt for you inside." 

I will never forget the smile of Jose when he walked down the stairs with his new White shirt. This meant everything to someone who is trying to change his life and has never owned a White shirt before. THIS IS CHARITY, THE PURE LOVE OF CHRIST. As missionaries and members of the church, we need to strive to have charity all the days of our lives because charity never faileth. How grateful I am that we have a perfect example, our Savior Jesus Christ to help us to do what is right. This is the number one thing I have learned most about here on my mission and wow... I'm super grateful that I still have 9 months left to learn a little bit more!

Love you all,

Hermana Herrera

The Book of Mormon, the best life guide on the planet

Hello all!

This week we had the coolest experience with the Book of Mormon. On Monday night, Hermana Galicia and I were talking to our district leader about how we could find more people to teach this week. He invited us to preach with the BOM in every lesson. To literally carry the BOM in our hand every second of the day so that's what we did! We talked to everyone with this book in our hand: at every door, street contact and home visit. By the end of the week, we found 6 new people that are really interested to learn more! 

As I reflected on the lessons we taught, I realized that we taught with more authority and I felt the Spirit a lot stronger. I love the Book of Mormon because it's basically the best life guide on the earth. It's full of of people with different levels of faith and what they do with their faith. It states clearly the consequences and blessings we receive when we exercise our faith in Christ. It is also a strong witness that Heavenly Father remembers and keeps His promises. So being filled to the brim with inspiring words from Women´s conference and stories from the BOM what do we need to do next?

I find it too often that the attitude of our investigators after our lessons is, ¨Wow that was great. I felt really good¨ and just kind of accept it was a good experience and move on. NO. This is no bueno. The invitation to ask your Father in Heaven if these things are true is vital for our spiritual learning. It is only when we feel that these things are true through the Spirit than we can move on and continue to learn. We must pray to receive this answer with an attitude of what are we going to do when we receive an answer. 

I love the scripture in 2 Nefi 32:8-9. It's kind of long to write but please look for it! I love the part that says "That ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.¨ So, there it is. My invitation is this, that when we hear the words of our prophet and apostles this week and when we attend sacrament meeting and listen to the words of the members that we don't forget to pray to ask if their words are true.  And after that, what are you going to do about it? I testify that when we make this a habit, we will be setting a foundation on Christ, we will not doubt when trials come and we will always be guided to know what to do. 

I love you all and know that this is true!

Hermana Herrera

"The tree of life" a stone found in Chiapas, Mexico hundreds of years ago. Interesting...

President couldn't get enough of us together, SAME DISTRICT!

Exchanges=family potrait

Spiritual Eyes

Hola! 

This week was filled with tiny miracles that my heart might explode with gratitude. Sadly, time is short and I'll just share one of my favorites. OK, so my first week here in Nanacamilpa, the bishop said he had someone  very special that he wanted us to meet. It turned out to be his nephew Alberto. I have heard about a mid-life crisis before but I have never really seen one. Alberto was right in the middle of it. I have never seen a man so low on his life before.  We could see that his past actions have had severe consequences. One in particular was his addictions. Alberto was someone that needed to feel the love that his Father in Heaven has for him. 

We have been teaching him these past few weeks, and it's been a very trying and growing experience to everyone that is involved. His progression has been a miracle. He hasn´t drank any alcohol for 2 weeks. He looks and is a new person. Now how is this possible? 

This Sunday, we had a meeting with our president with all the people that are going to be baptized in April. He asked a specific question to the investigators in the room. How have the missionaries helped you develop your faith? All of the sudden Alberto stood up and said: ¨The hermanas and my family first had faith in me. That helped me develop my confidence and knowledge that I am a child of God. They loved me with a love that I think that Christ has for me and it is through these things that I'm standing here and being prepared to be baptized.¨  In other words, the answer is what the bishop told us when he said ¨I want you to meet a very special person.¨ 

I love that and I have witnessed this throughout my mission. When we have testimonies of Jesus Christ and what He did for us, we want to be more like Him. We do this by loving and supporting one another. 

Another cool experience this week was when we did a huge demonstration of the plan of salvation. Hermana Galicia and I had the celestial kingdom. We were in a small room, that had lots of images of Christ. As people walked in, we explained about the requirements and the blessings to reach this kingdom of glory. As Alberto walked in, I could feel that this is where he belonged; that the Lord loved him and wanted him to be here. It's amazing to see that the Lord sees our potential, what we as humans can't see with our physical eyes. But when we desire to come closer to Him and serve the people around us we can receive spiritual eyes that will guide us to do our small part in His great plan.

Love you all and have a great week! 

Hermana Herrera 

My reality!

CELESTIAL KINGDOM!

Alberto in the middle, Bishop (his uncle) on the left and President Nelson

Our tryout for the sister missionary catalog

Feel the rain on your skin NANNA

It's cold... like really cold. The rainy season is starting and since we are at high altitude the wind is nuts. I'm doing well and love working here in this small town of Nanacamilpa, Tlaxcala. 

Something that's very hard but very worthwhile on the mission is developing Christlike attributes. This week my compa and I received blessings from our district leader. Mine talked a lot about how important charity is and if I am charitable I will be able to see a lot of miracles in my area. Reflecting on the drive home (our area is about an hour away) I was thinking about what aspect I needed to focus on. I think Heavenly Father wanted to make it clear by sending me an impression with a great flash of lightning at the same time... that I needed to work on forgiving others and forgetting. Lemme tell you guys, forgiving and forgetting are not my forte. I usually just push forward and try to take whatever I can learn from the experience. This is not the Lord´s way and He made that really clear. 

On the mission, there are many people that can do some hurtful things like negative comments and not being supportive, but that's ok because that is why we are here, to represent Christ and to experience a little bit of what He did. But it doesn't have to be painful all the time because we choose happiness and forgiving is a way of feeling that happiness. 

I think one of the greatest miracles I get to see every day is confirmation of the truth or doctrine of the church. I love when my investigators or people we teach know for themselves that Christ is their Savior and Redeemer. I know that I need to have these experiences also because sometimes we need trials to receive greater testimonies of doctrine. Right now, it's my turn to learn and gain a stronger testimony of forgiveness. I invite you all not to avoid hard things but to embrace them with open arms and maybe clenched teeth and let the Lord teach you.

Love you all

Hermana Herrera

p.s. I love this quote about forgiveness by Elder Kevin R. Duncan

"Forgiveness is the very reason God sent His Son, so let us rejoice in His offering to heal us all. The Savior’s Atonement is not just for those who need to repent; it is also for those who need to forgive. If you are having trouble forgiving another person or even yourself, ask God to help you. Forgiveness is a glorious, healing principle. We do not need to be a victim twice. We can forgive"