MUCHO potential

Familia. Familia. Familia.  I will try not to think to much about you on the beaches of Mexico.  Hearing these people always talk about where they are from makes me want to explore Mexico :) So Enjoy.  We got transfer calls early this morning and Hna Batchkoff and I are here again. AQUI otra vez!  Another 6 weeks...I am excited.  This area is taking off :)  I think we might see a baptism.  If not from our area, the Elders we work with a lot are going to have a baptism of this awesome guy named Oscar we've taught at church and gotten to know.  This week has been LOCO!  We haven't had time to breathe.  Really helping people progress toward baptism. It takes a lot of energy...as it should.

The week started off with a miracle.  We've been helping the Elders with one of their investigators.  She is AMAZING!  She has been through so much as have many of the people we've encountered lately.  She has a past in the drug business which put her in jail.  She is trying to start a business and earn money the right way, the hard way to support her kids in Mexico.  This woman has been through so so so much.  Oh my gosh and still is...consequences of our decisions are real.  So real.  Anyways, she has been suicidal in the past and so she isn't one to mess around with.  The Elders got a call from her saying she had an AWFUL day and wanted to talk and wanted us to come.  The earliest we could all get there was 8.  So we all met at 8 and it didn't look like she was there but we felt like we should knock anyway.  She wasn't there...so we decided to heart-attack her door.  So we go to the car to make all the hearts and then she texts us and says she will be there in 5 so we can talk real quick and have a prayer.  So we met her in her house and she was there with her Boyfriend who NEVER talks to us.  I asked if we could sing them a song...we sang I am a Child of God.  Afterwards we had a prayer.  Then we left and waited a few minutes before we ran back up to heart-attack her door.  So we sneaked back up put up all the hearts then knocked and ran.  Her Boyfriend came out and was looking for who it was so we were waiting till he went back inside before we ran to our car.  Mission Accomplished.  The next day we went back for a lesson when she had more time. We went in her house and found all the hearts on the wall surrounding her clock with the heart that says Fe right in the middle.  She went on to tell us what an impact that little gesture had on her and her Boyfriend.  She described how when she read those hearts an incredible feeling came over both of them...something she couldn't describe.  Her Boyfriend who she hasn't spoken very highly of in the past was REALLY effected.  He talked to her about how he needed to change to treat her better...he told her..."Did you listen to the words they sang in that song last night?"  He realized he really is a Child of God.  They have been reading the Book of Mormon together.  It is incredible how a bunch of silly hearts with compliments and words describing them can make such an impact...really it was the spirit.  It was the fact that both of them felt the love Heavenly Father has for them.  That put in them a desire to change.  I couldn't believe something that simple would change them so much...but the Gospel of Jesus Christ is simple.  It is love...it is kindness.  We returned to our car after the lesson (btw this was in the Elders area "the War Zone"  Scary....to find a huge dent in our left passenger door....HUGE.  Bueno.  Esta bien that is what insurance is for.  At least we weren't in the car when it happened :)

We found Jose a couple of weeks ago.  Jose is in a rough spot  as well.  His wife and kids recently left him, he lives alone in an empty trailor...which the court is probably going to take from him.  His only reason for living as of a week ago was his Dog which he miraculously found at the pound after contemplating suicide.  We are trying to still learn more about him...but he wants to be baptized.  He came to conference...he came to church yesterday!  He is reading the Book of Mormon like crazy and he loves it.  His life is changing because he now knows he is a child of God.  And he has seen a glimmer of hope..that is keeping him going.

Yesterday church was INCREDIBLE...our investigator from Cuba came with her daughter, Jose came...and the less-active families we've been working with all came too :)  The family we found who didn't know where to go and the wife hadn't been in 4 years because of work came yesterday and their records were announced to the branch!!!!  

Aline who is our age and we are trying to get to go to BYU...we were driving around in the morning doing our church round-up and I thought of her.  We ran by her house and found her in her pjs...I told her to jump in the shower and come over to church...she complained she was too tired.  But her brother told her he would drive her and she agreed ha!  Her brother is warming up to us...none of her family is members. yet.  They are awesome.  Patience and time.  They are seeing how Aline is changing as she is coming back to church.  Aawh  there is so much potential here.  I am so excited to see what happens these next 6 weeks.

Last night we found another part-member family.  Ran into the Dad...who is Mormon but has been inactive ever since he married his Catholic wife.  She sat down and talked to us and said she never talks to the missionaries.  But her Husband always does...and she needs to go to church with her husband and see.  He goes with her but she never goes to his church.  So we will see what will come of that!  Wohoo...

Anyways I think the overarching theme of this week...was teaching myself how to not let the never ending problems of the world that people pour all over us every day drag me down.  I am learning how to take all of those problems that I could so easily worry about and give it over to the Lord.  That is why we have a Savior.  He is there to take our burden.  It is a hard thing to learn how to do.  But I am trying and learning. You should try to.  It makes life the way it should be.  Much more fulfilling.

2 Corinthians 12:8-10 is incredible.  Read it.

Nuestro Padre Celestial ha dado mas que sabemos.  Mas que vamos a saber.  En realidad...cada dia es una bendicion de dios.  Tenemos una familia para las eternidades.  Estoy agradacida cada dia por eso.  Les quiero muchisimo.  

Tenga una buena semana en Mexico con mi gente!

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Hermana Holland