Raegan's Mission to Mexico: June 15, 2015: We Are Teaching Hermana Diaz a LOT of English!

Hola familia!! Wow, the wedding looks like it was a blast! And PERFECT!!!! Thanks so much for sending the pics. They looked so happy! Weird to think that my sister is a married woman...I feel like it was yesterday that we were playing Barbies. And I have a cuñado. Strange!!! I hope that it was as fun as it looked in the pictures and that everyone had a great time and ate lots of cake. That is always my favorite part of weddings...the food ha-ha. PS, I got my package last Monday, thanks so much!!!! It was perfect!!

Well, this week has been great! We set a baptismal date with Ricardo for the 4th of July...fireworks from El Paso and a baptism. And a MIRACLE happened yesterday, Veronica came to church!! I can’t remember if I told you about her....but seriously it was a miracle that made my Sunday. When we first met her, I thought she was going to eat us alive. But we went back to her anyway ha-ha. I really like her but she’s a tough nut to crack. There is just something about her, she’s really confused and is looking for the truth but puts up a tough front. She asked a lot of questions at church and the members were very helpful in explaining things. She is going to give us our lunch next week, too. We have really gained her confidence and she has her interests spiked high. I love the challenge of teaching her. Mundo is progressing nicely too. We had a lesson with him with Hermano Garcia and it went really well. We had some pretty interesting street contacts. I’m so grateful for the spirit and that it tells us what to say. We have been really busy and having lots of fun while working hard. I really love my companions!! We get along well. We are teaching Hermana Diaz a lot of English, and trying to make her like it ha-ha. She pronounces words really well; she just forgets what it all means. Well, that’s about all I remember from my week right now. I’m sure there are lots of other things that happened. I’m so grateful for journaling. I’m excited to read it to you guys. Hmm, anyways, I’m just super happy here. It’s so hot you guys!!! I will never take air conditioning for granted ever again. But even with the heat, I’m content.

Well, this week I have been thinking a lot about God’s grace...and well I love the conference talks and finally have them in the magazine so I’ve been reading them. I want to challenge you guys to read Uchtdorf’s talk called the Gift of Grace. But anyways, I’m going to tell you guys my two favorite parts from the talk:

But the grace of God does not merely restore us to our previous innocent state. If salvation means only erasing our mistakes and sins, then salvation—as wonderful as it is—does not fulfill the Father’s aspirations for us. His aim is much higher: He wants His sons and daughters to become like Him.

Salvation cannot be bought with the currency of obedience; it is purchased by the blood of the Son of God.

We need our Savior to progress if we want to get anywhere. We obey the Lord out of love for Him, but we will ALWAYS need Christ, without Him, it's impossible. And once we progress, we shouldn’t go back. My mission has been a great teacher to me about using God's grace. We all know I’m a bit of a "Get out of my way, I will do it myself." type of person. And maybe that determination isn’t a bad thing; it’s an attribute that just needs to be refined. I’ve really learned out here that I can’t do everything myself. And when we get in tune with the grace of God, we can work wonders. I hope that we can all appreciate more the grace of God in our lives by working hard and appreciating the grace He gives us daily!

Anyways, I love you all so much! Thanks for the unceasing support and love. I can feel your prayers always...and it’s a strength to me. I love you guys sooooooooooooooo much! I am so grateful for the family I have. I hope that you all have a great week!! Thanks for the pics!! Until next time....XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO #livingthedream

Con todo mi amor,

Hermana Anderton