April 13, 2015: Dirt in the Eye!

Hola familia!! Everyone sounds great :) That rocks my world. Congrats to Kennedy for making varsity and for getting her back-tuck. I was always such a chicken...and look at her go! Madison's engagement pics are really cute!!! You guys look really happy :) Speaking of pics and happiness, Hermana Lievano tried to send you pics mom and dad through Facebook I think she also sent you both a friend request; at least that is what she said. So she doesn't speak English or anything, but y'all have google translate...and when I get home, you'll have Hermana Anderton to translate ha-ha. Anyways, I hope things are getting wrapped up for the wedding, its coming up!! AHHHHH! I need a cardboard cutout for pics. Summer is just around the corner too right? Wow, it seems like just yesterday we were moving me out of my apartment from college after finishing up the semester.

This week was the week of cambios. Ummmmm, I don't remember how to say those in English......wait......wait........AH! Transfers! Well, I'm sticking here in Rio Nilo still and finishing training Hermana Ferrell. I decided I might as well buy a couch and a toaster since I'm never leaving here ha-ha. I've been here for 7 months. But I'm cool with it. I really like it here :) It's been really windy, I've ate lots of nutritious dirt. Seriously, sometimes we would get back to the apartment and I thought, "Whoa, my wicked tan is coming in!!" but....then I take a shower and it goes away. So much dirt! I'm really glad I have my glasses to help with that. This week we put another baptismal date with Maria for the 25th of April. She always loves having us come and the Spirit we bring. We have really caught her attention with the idea of the gift of the Spirit and enjoying it all the time after her baptism. She is the coolest woman on the planet!!! Her life has changed so much. The mission is wonderful because you get to watch the effect of the gospel in people's lives. It's such an opportunity and a blessing!!! Funny story about her: her children NEVER listen to her and she used to not discipline them...but that's changing. One day we were coming up the stairs and came to her shantily covered porch out the back of her house and found 2 beds and bunch of toys and Lluvia and Abram sitting there. We asked what happened and they said their mom kicked them out for 24 hours because they were being bad. I know I shouldn't have started laughing...but I did. She opened the door for us and said, "Please come in sisters. I was waiting for you. Don't mind them." So, we went in the house and she said that they were going to learn. She told us she didn't yell at them or anything and calmly moved their beds outside and locked them out. I know it's horrible, but I could totally see it happening and Hermana Ferrell and I laughed. You must understand, these kids are out of control....so to them it was a total shock. Other than that, we talked to a bunch of people in the street and have been really busy. Somehow we always end up right where we need to be!! It's cool to watch miracles and tender mercies happening every day.

I bought a Sudoku book on the internet last week. I decided I really don't want to be an old crazy lady....I've met so many of those! Also, I'm a bit of a nerd and I guess you could say I was thrilled to have some number puzzles to solve. My comp took a nap last week and I played Sudoku.

Well, my spiritual thought for you guys is from President Kimball. He has a book called "Faith Precedes the Miracle" that I keep finding quotes from in my scriptures. Hunt down that book and read it! I've loved every single quote from it. Anyway it says:

"Is there not wisdom in his giving us trials that we might rise above them, responsibilities that we might achieve, work to strengthen our muscles, sorrows to try our souls? Are we not exposed to temptations to test our strength, sickness that we might learn patience, death that we might be immortalized and glorified? ... No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education ... builds our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called children of God."

I love that! Anyways, I know a few of you are feeling a little buried right now, but roll with the punches :) There is no moment in our life that goes wasted if we go about with an attitude to learn and with a mind open to the promptings of the Spirit. Life is a miracle, life is amazing!!! Hard, but absolutely wonderful!!!! Everything has a purpose and God is aware of each of us and what we are going through. He will support us in every moment of our lives. Of that I am sure!! :)

Well, I love you guys so much and miss you all greatly!!!!!! Oh, I just want to bring you all here with me!! I love my mission!!! Thanks for all you have done for me and for the wonderful opportunities that you have given me. I love you all!!! Have a fabulous week, keep calm and keep the faith. WE are all living the dream!!! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO till next week!!!

Con todo de mi amor,

Hermana Anderton

Birthday Gift....   Not sure if they are telling Raegan she talks too much??

She was calling a masterpiece??

Birthday gift from Hermana Mercado

Raegan says that Hermana Mercado eats popsicles like a little kid..  haha

Raegan's companion Hermana Ferrell from Green River Wyoming....  Way to represent.

Hermana Luly...  Takes care of Raegan...  We love mission moms!!!

April 6, 2015: Coolest Candle Ever

Now that is a "Birthday Candle"!!!

HOLA FAMILIA!!!!! You all sound like you are doing great and enjoyed the General Conference ALMOST as much as I did. It was awesome! I did have a good birthday out here, lots of members kept giving me cake, so I just started giving it away to my comp and other people. I was all caked out ha-ha. So we sat around eating cake and watching conference and then went out to preach, so I would say my birthday was great. Rosario gave us lunch that day and on my cake she put a firework, coolest candle ever! Good luck Kennedy with cheer tryouts, you will do great and will be in my prayers. Mom and Dad, we HAVE to travel all over Mexico!! Seriously, I've made a list of all the places we need to go as a family. Everyone was just talking about that this week, so right now I have traveling syndrome. So anyways, I have a list of about 10 places we need to see here in Mexico.

This week was good. We were pretty busy contacting people with the "Because He Lives" initiative that the Church is doing for Easter. I hope you guys have seen the video. If not, go check it out and share it. I really like the music. We found a family to teach! We were passing by a house of an old reference that we had back in December and could never find. I had a distinct impression to turn back and knock on her door, even though I had high doubts that she would be there...because she wasn't EVER. But I figured I would rather follow the impression than wonder if I should have. When we got there, she had just barely come back from her LOOOOONG vacation. We asked if we could visit her for a little bit right then and she let us in. We chatted for a while and then showed the "Because He Lives" video and they really liked it. Her name is Armida and her husband is Juan...and embarrassingly, I can't remember their son and daughter's name right now. Whoops. Anyways, Juan is a Bible junkie and was asking a bunch of complicated questions about the Bible trying to stump us the first few minutes we were there. But luckily, the Spirit helped me remember things I've learned and I found myself really grateful that I went to seminary and took my scripture reading seriously. THANK YOU BROTHER HILL!!!! We gained his trust after that and then he relaxed a bit. We left them a Book of Mormon and taught them how to pray and we will be visiting them later this week. Maria went to the baptism and liked it a lot. She started listing off all the things she would have to do if she got baptized to me and expressed her concern that she couldn't follow through on a few things. I assured her that she could, and that we can't be perfect. She's ready, she just doubts herself....so we will keep working. We found a woman who talked with the missionaries at a hair salon 4 years ago. She asked us for a Book of Mormon and hugged it when we gave it to her. She said she had always wanted to read it. Her name is Ampara. She's a future investigator we have, so hopefully this week she can be a new one :) So yep, we are just talking to everyone and the stray dogs in the street trying to find the people who are seeking happiness ha-ha.

I found a new favorite game I like, it's called scripture baseball. Summary: you have to guess book, chapter, and verse to get a homerun. OH BRING ON THE CHALLENGE!!! Hermana Ferrell showed it to me, I'm addicted. I love that game. I also am still using my Med Tech skills and gave Hermana Mercado a shot for her allergies this week. She was worse than Kennedy!!!! She wouldn’t calm down. After the shot, she almost passed out. Good gravy, we had a good laugh at her afterward.

General Conference was amazing! I loved the focus on families and on testimonies. Focusing on what we do know instead of what we question was a good point that Rosemary M. Wixom made. I loved her talk!! I think because I've worked with a lot of less-actives and have found that trend to be so true. I think that's something we can all apply, too. We know the simple truths of the gospel to be true, sometimes we get caught up on the things we cannot understand and lose our love for the things we do know. Questions are good, they are how we learn. But we need to be careful what type of questions we ask, and be prepared if the answer is, "You cannot know yet." I know that this church is true, that the BoM is true, that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that Christ is my Savior. So...even though there are some other things I don't understand or question, I cannot deny the basic truths of my testimony. So if anyone ever doubts, just remember to go back to where it all started: the basics. (This can all be found in Preach My Gospel, I love that manual!) Anyways, enjoy lds.org and the conference talks. Study them, apply them, and make goals!!!! :)

Well, I hope you all have a great week! Thanks for all the love and support. I have the best family and friends on the planet. I love you all soooo much! I'm doing well here and living the dream. I hope that you all are too!!! XOXOXOXOXO till next time!

Con amor,
Hermana Anderton

20!

Mission issued transportation....... not!

Lets go contact people!!!

Happy Birthday Raegan!!!

March 30, 2015: Livin' On A Prayer

WOAHHHHHH!! WE'RE HALFWAY THERE!!!! WOAH, LIVIN' ON A PRAYER!!! TAKE MY HAND, AND WE'LL MAKE IT I SWEAR!! Sorry, just can't believe I am halfway through my mission, and who can resist a little Bon Jovi? I know Mom wouldn't be opposed :) You all sound like you are doing wonderful! I'm glad that you all had a wonderful spring break! Now it's back to real life. 73 days until the wedding, sheesh, time flies!!!!

Well, this week has been good! We had a really powerful lesson with a member who's mom is going to die pretty soon. We just listened to her and her testimony and told her to hold on to what she knew, and then sang her "All Is Well." I didn't think too much about it until Sunday when she was teaching the Sunday School class and told them that she was sure Heavenly Father never leaves us alone because He always sends people to our aide and talked about how much strength she felt from our lesson that helped her get through the week. We never really know how much a kind word or act will really mean to someone, so we should always just do it. We ate with Maria de Jesus yesterday; she wanted to give us food. It was chicharon, or I guess you could say pig intestine fat. GAG!!! But I ate it like a champion because you have no other choice ha-ha. The people here give us so much food!!!!!!!!! Oh goodness, I can't handle it! Even if you just eat one plate, it's still a load of food. So if I come back a little thicker, don't judge. I will drop it within the first few months of being home, so I'm just not going to fret over it. I will just control what I can and then roll with it.

This week we were contacting a man in the street and found out he was a child psychologist. I asked him if he knew how to analyze people with just drawings and he said he could. I was curious and asked him to do one for me. He had me draw a tree and then told me about my personality. It was straight on!! We knew him for about 60 seconds and he already could tell me a lot about myself. Long story short, I'm a little girl stuck in a grown-ups body because I really like to play and like to be free. But when push comes to shove, I'm very organized and know how to work hard and focus. I am a good leader but hate to be in charge, but I really like things my way...so when I'm in charge, I'm super bossy. Hmmmm, yep, that's me!!!! I want to learn how to analyze people based off drawings, I find that super interesting.

There will be a baptism this week of a less active's husband. Maria is really excited to attend one and see, I think it will be the kicker for her, so I'm excited to see the results. We had an activity in the church house last weekend and she was wandering all around socializing. She's good to go.

Well, this weekend is conference. I hope that you all are preparing well!!! I'm super excited to hear from our leaders! Write down 2 or 3 questions to get answered in conference, you'll get your answers :)

My thought for you guys is short since I'm almost out of time. I've been thinking a lot about examples and loving people. I'm so grateful for the example of my parents and for the love I always knew I had from them. They showed me the gospel. My parents love me, so I trust them! I know our Heavenly Father loves us too! My quote is from my favorite apostle, Richard G. Scott, from last April's conference:

How can each of us become such a significant influence? We must be sure to sincerely love those we want to help in righteousness so they can begin to develop confidence in God’s love. For so many in the world, the first challenge in accepting the gospel is to develop faith in a Father in Heaven, who loves them perfectly. It is easier to develop that faith when they have friends or family members who love them in a similar way.

WE can all be an influence for good! I love you all so much!!!!!! Have a great week and enjoy conference!!!!! Till next week! XOXOXOXOXO Living the dream!!!!

Con todo de mi amor,

Hermana Anderton

March 23, 2015: It's So Simple A Child Can Understand It!

Hello family!! I hope that you are all doing great! I'm so proud of Kennedy! State Champs!!! Great job!!! :) I'm so happy for you. I love Madison's dress. It's beautiful! You will be a stunning bride!!! Only 2 1/2 months until the wedding! Wow, I remember when it was 6 months away. Sheesh, life rolls on without a stop! I'm going to hit my halfway mark this Wednesday, I can't believe it! I feel like I just walked away from the car and didn't turn back to see you guys to enter the MTC yesterday. But then there are some things that feel like eternity ago ha-ha. So, time is an odd item to understand. So, I figure to just enjoy the moment you're in with all your heart.

Well, we worked hard this week and the weather is warming up. Except one day, we got soaked in the rain! I might as well have not showered that morning. Hmm, I'm really becoming an old timer because I am running out of things to say ha-ha. I am really happy in my mission and am learning so much! We talk with a million people every day! I've been in this area for almost 6 months; I'm starting to recognize some of the people in the street. I have a million friends now. I figure even if they don't accept our message, they are still my friends. I'm getting better at remembering people from off the street by name, so that way they feel more special. Maria de Jesus gave me a skirt this week that she didn't fit in anymore. It’s really pretty. We were about to leave her house after an appointment and she said, "Wait, I have something for you!" She went to her room and started shuffling with things and then came out with a blue flower-printed skirt. She told me she used to be small like me, but has since gained some weight and wanted to give it to me "with all the love in her heart." She could have sold it for money, but she just gave it to me. I love that woman! Please keep her in your prayers. She really loves the church and is changing so much! She is progressing; she is just battling a bit with accepting that she's ready for baptism. She always keeps her commitments and is so happy. When I met her, she didn't even smile. Now she's got a whole new light in her eyes and talks about how all the questions she has ever had in life are getting answered in the church. We put a baptismal date with Antonia for the 16th of May. She learns a little slow, but loves the Book of Mormon and always asks for more scriptures to be left with her. We just want to leave a chapter or 2, and she ends up reading like 5 or 6. She says it's amazing to her because she can understand it and can remember what she read. That's the power of the Book of Mormon, the doctrines of Christ: simplified and put into example. It doesn't speak in riddles. (Okay, 2 Nephi is sometimes a bit different, but I personally still love it ha-ha.) It's so simple a child can understand it! So people with kids, it's not an excuse, read them anyway with your younglings!

Okay remember: MEMORIZE THE LIVING CHRIST DAD, MADDIE, AND KENNEDY!!! Since its Spring Break and y'all will be chilling for the next week, be productive! I want reports next Monday. You will pass it off to Mom, the only person who did it so far. And punto!

Now that I've reminded you guys about the cool challenge I gave you guys to do, here is my spiritual thought for the week. It comes from a talk from David Bednar from 2012. It's called The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality. Here's the link. 

https://www.lds.org/liahona/2012/04/the-atonement-and-the-journey-of-mortality?lang=eng

Anyways, it's a really good talk! I've been thinking a lot about how much I need the enabling power of the atonement in my life. I need His grace because there is no way I could do this without Him. Really, how can any of us do anything without Him? He will make more of us than we ever can. We all have disabilities, and He can turn those into strengths (Ether 12:27). Here's the part I loved about the talk, it speaks for itself:

The enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do and be good and to serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity.

I know He can help us do more than we ever thought we could!

I love you all so much! I hope you enjoy your vacation! Get ready for General Conference, its coming! (So is my birthday! I'm so happy General Conference is the same day.) Memorize the Living Christ. Well, until next week!!!! Living the dream! XOXOXOXOXOXO

Con todo de mi amor,

Hermana Anderton

Hermana Anderton gets to drive in Juarez!!!

The Lion King...  I'm more interested in the seafood restaurant.. mmm mmmm!

Just like the old Maxima at home....

Maria gave Raegan a dress

Yes, it rains in Juarez sometimes...

She cooks??? 

March 16, 2015: I think Juarez is a bit different than Wyoming

Hello beautiful family! I'm glad you got the package!! I hope you guys enjoyed the Mexican treats, they are amazing right? Good job Mom on finishing memorizing The Living Christ. And the rest of you??? Hmmm. Good luck to Kennedy at State this week, you will do wonderful! And have fun picking out your dress Maddie! Pick the poofiest one you can find...ha-ha. I'm kidding. Let's not look like a white fuzz ball at your wedding. It's not 1988 after all. (Hehehehe, Mom :)) Oh, and a very happy birthday to Grandma Russell!!!!

This week was great, as are all the others. I really like my companion, she is a hard worker. I think Juarez is a bit different than Wyoming, but she's taking it like a champ and adjusting well. We had a really cool experience this week with an investigator. We got to Antonia's house and her two cousins were there too. She had just finished reading Alma 32 and was ranting all about how beautiful it was to her cousins. She kept repeating, "Faith is like a tree. We have to keep watering it!" Her cousins starting asking us questions and we got into a good conversation. At some point, one of them said, "Well, I think all the churches are true and come from God. Everything that's good comes from Him." Well, that's half-true. Before I realized what I was saying I said, "Well, that's not exactly right." and was flipping open my Bible to Eph. 4:5. They asked how they could know which church was true. Then we explained that there was a young boy in the 1800's that had the same question, and taught them about the Restoration. When we asked them at the end what they thought of all of that, they just said, "Wow!" So, we got their addresses and passed them along so the missionaries in their area could teach them. They were a little floored, but they said they felt really good. THE SPIRIT PEOPLE!!!

Maria de Jesus has hit a couple of road bumps, but I'm not too worried. She knows it's true. I think Jaquelyn might get baptized before her mom, but we will see if we can iron out the wrinkles we have going on. She invited her neighbor to come with us to church, but he didn't want to. She was upset he didn't want to come. She said, "He really could use help. I know he would feel more at peace if he would go." Ah, drives me crazy, she loves the church and does everything...she just has that darn man in Sonora. We are just going to pray and let the Lord take care of it. She told us the other day, "It's like magic when you come to my house." I'll tell you what that magic is: The happiness that the gospel brings into our lives!

Anyways, this week I've just really been thinking about how blessed we are to have the gospel in our lives. I've really noted this week how unhappy some people are, and it's because they are either not living it, or they don't know about it. I wake up every morning with a smile on my face and am always humming happy songs, because I'm happy!!!! Sure, I have had a few surprises in my life and there are many more to come, and yes the mission is work, work, work...but I'm happy. We are so lucky to know what we know, and have this blessing in our lives.

My thought for you guys comes from Romans 12:2. It says:

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The world is changing fast! I know I'm in my mission bubble, but I can sense it. Standards are falling, "exceptions" are frequent, and we are starting to depend on our own wisdom instead of the guidance of God. Our “tolerance” cannot find us failing to stand up for what we believe in. NO, IT SHOULD NOT BE THAT WAY!!! May we take the stand, be firm, and be examples. We read about Captain Moroni this week. Let's be bold like him, and not conform to the trends of the world. We do have to live in it, I'm not suggesting we run into the mountains and cut ourselves off from civilization. I'm suggesting we get our noses in our scriptures, become more fervent in our prayers, build unshakeable testimonies, and stand up for what we believe. There is a world out there waiting for us!

I love you all and miss you soooooooo much! I hope that you all have a great week and that all goes well. Enjoy state, enjoy spring break, and love the life you live. We are all living the dream!!! XOXOXOXOXO Till next week!

 

Con todo de mi amor,

Hermana Anderton

March 9, 2015: So, Apparently the Lord Thinks I Speak Sufficient Spanish......

Hey everyone! It sounds to me like you guys had quite the week. I'm glad everything has settled back down. You guys should just wrap yourselves up in bubble wrap and stay in space-hazard suits and never leave the house, that way nothing will happen. Ha-ha, live your lives, but don't have a week like this one again :) I love the emails, thanks so much for all your words of encouragement and love. I also got the package, loved it! My comp helped me eat everything except the Rolos, I told her that was something I just couldn't share ha-ha. I LOVE THOSE!!!!

To start off, I ended up naming my knitted cat: MUFASA!!! I'm kind of proud of it so I wanted to tell you guys. Okay, now the surprise of the week: I'M CURRENTLY RAISING MY SECOND BABY!!! Yeah, we got a call on Tuesday morning and Hermana Zepeda left for Casas Grandes and I am training a brand new missionary again. We packed up and in were in the mission offices in 30 minutes. I guess you could say they didn’t give us a lot of time. My companion is from Green River, Wyoming and her name is Hermana Ferrell. So, apparently the Lord thinks I speak sufficient Spanish...we are two Americans navigating the streets of Juarez and only one of us speaks Spanish ha-ha. She is really cute and just got out of high school. She is anxious to learn and is always asking for vocabulary words in the streets to memorize. She is going to be a really good missionary!!!! It was a little weird to speak in English sometimes...mine has gotten really bad. I saw Hermana Sutton in the mission office; she goes home the next transfer!!!! :( I'm so grateful for all that she did for me. I can't believe I almost have the time left that she had when I got here. I remember when I thought it was an eternity away, now time is flying! 

Maria de Jesus is the cutest thing in the world. She is smiling so much now, it makes me so happy!! She is making changes, slowly but surely. I don't think she will make her baptismal date we set, but we will put a different one. I know she will be baptized. I feel the same way about her that I did about Hermana Patlan, so I know she will get baptized. Actually, a hermana in our ward said something really stupid to her about coming to church in pants and that she was lacking respect by not wearing a dress or skirt. The mother bear almost came out of me...but I refrained from pouncing on the hermana. Maria let it roll of her back and said, "I will come in a skirt when I feel like it." Really, it's not that big of a deal. We told her everyone wears skirts, but it was okay to do what she felt comfortable with. Her kids and her used to come in hoodies, and they came this week in brand new nice sweaters. Those types of things come with time; I wish people would just understand that. That's not the important part right now in the process. So please, never say dumb things to investigators!!! We went to visit her after church and she wasn't too worried about the incident with the hermana and just started talking about how much she loves the church. She got very serious for a second and asked, "Do I have sufficient faith?" We assured her that of course she did and talked about Alma 32 and how she's nurturing her faith with her prayers, by going to church, etc. She was beaming at the end. She has invited her neighbors to come to church with us next week.

So my thought for you guys is about the Atonement this week. I've been thinking a lot about it since I was memorizing that part in the end of the first half of the Living Christ this week. (Where are you all at?????) Anyways, I was also reading in True to the Faith about the Atonement. It said there that it was the most supreme demonstration of our Heavenly Father's love for us and of Christ's love for us and for the Father. We can NEVER DOUBT THAT WE ARE LOVED!!!! So yeah, come what may...my Father and Savior love me. (Oh and my family too :)). I'm so grateful for the Atonement of Christ, without Him, there is no way I could make it through a year and a half away from you guys living in Mexico. I could not make the changes that I need to make without His help. I would still probably be that bum I was when I was 14. It makes me think of the scripture in Mosiah:

For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.

Through the Atonement, we can have support in our trials, free ourselves from sin, and become the men and women that God wants us to be!! The Gospel, the Plan, the Atonement, it's all centered in the love our Heavenly Father has for us.

I love you all so much and miss you all a lot!! Have a great week! I'm living the dream and am happy here. Keep on keeping on and have a blast! XOXOXOXOXOXO

Con todo de mi amor,

Hermana Anderton

Nutella Heaven!

Hermana Ferrell straight from Green River, Wyoming

Hermana Ferrell and Anderton

Valentines gifts....

Always use a pair of Racquetball Glasses!!

Sacred Grove Poster..  Not sure where she found this?

March 2, 2015: Moroni's Promise, or not.......

Okay, first things first!!!! I was not transferred and neither was my companion. We are sticking to the work here in Rio Nilo for the next six weeks! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!! I'm so happy that I don't have to pack up my stuff ha-ha. I didn't feel like doing that. And the other thing: great job mom on memorizing the Living Christ!! As for the rest of you...I think you guys can see my facial expression right now. Where are your reports?!?!?!?! I hope that you're all trailing along nicely too. Everyone sounds happy and semi-healthy, keep up the great work! When is Spring Break for you guys? I am super excited to see Maddie's wedding dress :) I want photos of everything she tries, and you can't buy it until I have my opinion stated with the choices. My sister has to look mighty fine for her wedding!

Hmm, this week was great! (They always are!) But here's the funny of the week first. So we have an investigator named Antonia who was super interested in the Book of Mormon. SUPER-DUPER interested. It's all she wanted to talk about. So we left here Moroni's promise to read in Chapter 10. When we came back, she told us she was very disturbed and super confused why we left that part of the book to read. We asked her why and what happened. She then opened her book and said, "There are a lot of ugly things. I started in 10 like you wanted me to and went until the mark you put." Well, in the Spanish scriptures, Chapter 9 verse 10 is on the left page at the beginning and chapter 10 is at the end on the right. She read from Chapter 9 verse 10 until Chapter 10...oh man! She read about the destruction of the Nephite nation and all of the ugly ways people were dying. I started laughing and told her the mark was where she was supposed to start reading. She laughed too. No wonder she was so confused and a little bit shocked ha-ha. 

Maria has back-peddled pretty hard about her baptism this week. Her boyfriend who lives in Sonora...like 4 hours from here...doesn't want to get married. But he helps her out with money and stuff, so she doesn't really want to break up with him. Dang it, drop him woman! She told us she wasn't sure if she could change anymore. We told her change wasn't easy, but it wasn't impossible. We then reviewed all of the blessings she is seeing in her life as she has kept the commitments. She said she would keep listening and keep preparing but lost a lot of animo. I was devastated!!!! I don't think I've ever had my heart break like that before. But then we had Stake Conference this week, and I think it might have saved her vision of baptism. A recent convert spoke about his experience, and it was PERFECT!!!!! I felt a huge sigh of relief when we went to a lesson with her on Sunday night. We had planned to talk about following the prophet, but she refused to focus on that and only wanted to talk about the testimony of the recent convert. She kept talking about how beautiful the stake conference was and how much she loves the people of the church. She then recommitted to baptism and seemed re-animated. We're planning a service project with the youth to paint her house this Saturday or the next!! :)

Okay spiritual thought for you guys. I'm going to finish all the standard works before I get home and am currently in the NT. I was reading in Mark 4 this past week and it really got me thinking. Question for you guys: What type of seed are you? Here are a few verses I want to share:

3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:

4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:
6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty and some sixty and some an hundred.

Interpretation:

14 ¶The sower soweth the word.
15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stonyground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or 
persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.
18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
20 And these are they which are sown on good ground;such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

We need to plant ourselves in good ground. We need to be sure of who we are and where we are going. Sometimes we can get really excited for things and then drop our testimonies and faith faster that a hot potato when things get rough. Sometimes we love our time on our phones and Facebook more than we love to go out and serve. Sometimes we let doubt trump our belief in things we know to be true. We should do a self-check frequently and always, always, ALWAYS, be strengthening our testimonies. If you don't have one, get one! Jeffery R. Holland gave a beautiful talk about building our belief in April 2013. Read it. Here’s the link:

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/lord-i-believe?lang=eng

Anyways, I just want everyone to be on sure and steady ground. So please never procrastinate the opportunity to strengthen your testimony.

I love you all and hope that you have a great week! You are really all the best; I miss you guys so much!!! But holy, half-way there...time is flying. Don't forget to memorize the Living Christ! I love you guys!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for the wonderful emails!!! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Con todo de mi amor,
Hermana Anderton

Someone knitted Raegan a.....  something??  Hello Kittie?