The Week of Singing Catholics

BueNAS!

Glad to hear all is well on the home front. Especially with the snow thing... I am so grateful for the blessings and power that come from fasting and prayer! What would we even do without them?

 I am also VERY grateful to have come from a home and family and parents that love the Lord and teach their children about spiritual things from a young age. We´ve been teaching this young girl--Diana (9), who is a STINKER when she comes to church-- and she does not know a thing about religion. We were really surprised to find this out, because her extended family is super catholic and they are always singing and things. But, nope. She and her mother are both like little children when it comes to this. It makes the lessons a little challenging, but that´s why we teach by the spirit. Because we don´t actually know how to teach anything, let alone something of this magnitude from the ground up.  :) 

SPEAKING of singing Catholics, I have another story for ya´ll. I assume that everyone likes sleep, right? It´s great. It keeps us healthy and happy and... well, happy. Well, we happen to live right across the street from this Catholic church and apparently last week was some sort of celebration. Great. Love it. Celebrations are ¨de beeehhhst,¨ and stuff. But these lovely people start ringing their bells at 4 AM and then begin singing the worst/ longest song I have ever heard in all of my days. You know what can make an hermana grumpy in the morning? Singing Catholics. A girl needs her sleep. 

So.... I don´t remember how much I told you about Selene last week.. but we committed her to living the word of wisdom, and she accepted. She really likes the coffee, though, so we have been praying really hard all week that she will be able to keep her commitment and quit coffee. WELL, the next time we visited her she told us that she hasn´t even felt like she WANTED the coffee! She started telling us all about the health benefits she has seen, and how she can sleep "un poco mas tranquila." Bless her. I love her! She is progressing so much! I mean.. she´s still having her struggles, but we have so much faith in her! YAY SELENE! and YAY for the power of prayer!

Also this week mi compañera has been dealthy ill. Not really, but she has been sick with something. She´s hackin up a lung, and was out with a fever for a day. And by "day" I mean a morning, because she´s one tough cookie, that hermana Morales. Ain´t nothing gonna prevent her from getting stuff done. And Mom: Everyone and their dog has a cold right now. They are all blaming it on the changes in temperature because one day it will be deathly hot, and the next rainy and "cold." Can that really be the cause? If so, I think I might be immune. Living 10 years in Idaho was good preparation for this here territory. 

I know what you are all thinking. "How is your Spanish, Hermana Moser? Please tell us." It´s FINE. I´ll update you: Spanish is still hard. Actually, this learning-a-second-language is the hardest thing I have ever done. But this week it has been a different kind of hard, because I am actually starting to realize I can understand what people are saying to me. Let´s talk about how terrifying that is for just a second.. For the past 2 months I have been able to get by just looking at hermana Morales with an "I´m American and I don´t understand what they said and so you´re going to have to answer that question" expression on my face. Now that I can understand things I can´t really pull that card anymore and it´s really scary. Yep. I´m having to rely on the Lord even more than before, which is a lot. It seems the more I rely on the Lord, the more weaknesses I notice in myself, and the more I rely on the Lord. I think I´ll call this "The Mission Cycle," because I don´t see it stopping any time in the near future. That´s alright, though, because I am learning more here than I ever have before. Also, speaking is still way harder than understanding. My accent is terrible. 

In other, more boring, news: Yes, Mom, I am using my DEET. Not the tiny one that you gave me, because that says very clearly in English to not use it on skin, but one that I bought this week when I went to immigration (HUZZAH for green cards). I use the tiny one on my bag, because sometimes these tiny little creatures appear on it and it freaks me out. 

Shout out to Naflin for being the TIN MAN!!!! WHOOO!!!! Totes pumped. 

Also to my bff Amy for completing 21 years of life! I made sure to honor it in my agenda el día de hoy :) 

I love you I love you I love you!

Hermana Moser

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!

Feb. 7, 2014

Dearest familia,       

This week was awesome because I GOT MY CHRISTMAS PACKAGE!! WHOOOOO!!! I have never been so excited to see a box in all of my days. I am not joking. And, obviously, I cried the whole time I was opening it. ¨What´s this? Sweedish Fish and Hot Tamalles?? THEY KNOW ME SO WELL!!!!¨ Tears. Quite ridiculous. And so thank you, my dear family, for the happiest Christmas-in-January that I have ever had. I especially enjoyed the dancing cow. Her splits are quite impressive. :) Also, you bet your life I´m going to carry that Christmas tree around until next year. I´m super stoked to put it up. 

 

In other news, my black coat and my jeans molded. Sick nasty. We thoroughly deep-cleaned everything this morning and found a lot of nastiness we didn´t even know existed. Por ejemplo: The green white button-up shirt on the back balcony surrounded by thousands (exaggeration) of spiders. Ugh. Elders. But now everything has been thrown out, or washed, or clorox-ed and we feel a lot better about life. It helped that last week Hermanas Cuevas y Wood moved two doors down. This means more space and less humidity and it is AWESOME.

This week we also had TWO (count ém) comp-exchanges. The first was with Hermana Cuevas otra vez, which was fine because she knows me and the investigators and the area and it was a good time with her. The very next day, however, we exchanged with the hermanas de Las Rosas. We did this because my blessed compañera is the zone-sister training leader, and therefore has to exchange with every companionship in the zone once a transfer. I was NOT a happy camper to be stuck here with the cell-phone and the keys and a stranger. It was seriously terrifying to be the senior companion for a day in a land where I still have troubles speaking about things non-gospel. That being said, the Lord heard my many prayers, and I was incredibly blessed the whole day. Not only could I understand my new companion (who spoke faster than I thought was humanly possible) I was able to direct the taxi and communicate with the members and investigators. AND I didn´t even get lost one time! It was the día de milagros, and I am very grateful for the experience. But I´m extremely glad to have hermana Morales back. :) 

Last week was similar to the week before by way of teaching. It seems everyone and their thousand dogs are ¨sick.¨ In reality, they just have colds...but they literally think they are dying. Also, in Mexico when you have a cold, you cannot drink anything cold. When then told me that all I could think of was how I would die if I had to drink hot liquids in this hotness. Nope. But we are still making progress with Selene. 

We have also been teaching four siblings: Sheila-13, Armando-11, Mariana- 10, Lupita- 8. They are the most precious little things! Sheila has apparently made a complete 180 in her associations with the missionaries. Hermana Morales told me that when they first started coming, she wouldn´t even say hello. Now, before we even say the closing prayer, she´s the one asking ¨When can you come again??¨ Wow. Miracle. They also have been coming to church with us. This week they apparently talked about baptism in primary, because all the way home Mariana was talking about how she needs to be baptized, and asking us questions about our baptisms. Sheila commented on it too. We were thinking ¨YES! BAPTISM! But first, we actually have to get permission from your very Catholic grandmother.. so just hold on to that thought.¨ So we´re praying for Grandma to see the changes in her grandchildren, and allow them to take this next step. Whooo!!

 

I tried to take a picture of my legs, but you can´t really see the individual dots. It´s not as impressive as it is in real life, so I´ll just let you use your imagination. It looks a lot like chicken-pox, if that helps any. 

Also, we totally had pancakes last night with the family of Nageli, whom I adore. They were DELICIOUS, and I could just close my eyes and picture myself with my family for a second. :) 

Also also, I got bit by a dog. RELAX. It´s fine. Didn´t even get the skin. But the dumb dog tore my favorite skirt, and so I am a little ticked. I was going to take a picture, but I forgot. So.. sorry. Maybe next week. And I think it´s important for you to know that when Hermana Morales gets nervous, she starts laughing and can´t stop. For example: The time I got bit by a dog. I was VERY confused as to why she was laughing when I was in the various stages of shock, and she just kept saying ¨Estoy nerviosa..tengo miedo...¨ Ah. Weird. Bless her. 

Thank you for all the prayers in my behalf, and for those with whom I am working. I can feel the power of them every day, and I am so grateful. Grateful for people who love me enough to remember me in their prayers, and grateful that we are only a prayer away from the most Supreme Being--our Father in Heaven. Prayer is the best thing ever, and I know it works. God will not only hear your prayers and answer them, He WANTS to hear your prayers and answer them. So keep on keepin´on, and I´ll keep you in my prayers as well. :)

I love you I love you I love you!!!!

Hermana Moser