Week 45 & 46 Happy Christmas

This week has been a good one, but we are tired.  We did our first divisions this week.  I stayed in the area with my daughter, Hermana Cervantes.  It was a great day and it was fun to be with her again and see how we have grown as missionaries.  Elder Toris from the Seventy came to our mission for a mission tour.  On Friday, we had meetings literally all day with him.  On Saturday, we had a meeting with the leaders.  There were 25 of us in total.  I thought it would be an hour to hour and a half meeting.  When I looked at my watch, at the end of the meeting, it had been over three hours.  It was one of the most spiritual experiences in my life.  We talked about what we can do to improve the mission.  He worked us through what a real counsel should be.  To be in his presence and talk with him and for him to share some of the things he did was something hard to describe.  I’ve heard about these stories before.  An apostle visits a mission and when he shakes their hands he interviews each and every one of them.  He told us in the meeting that he interviewed each and every one of our companions.  He shared with us the problems he felt as he looked in our eyes.  He shared with us some of the experiences he had with the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  He told us we will know if we have been good missionaries when our grandkids receive their endowments.  He said that the Second Coming will come tomorrow and now is the time to prepare.  He said the weakness we have as humans is that we can’t do anything without the Atonement, without Christ.  I love you!! 

XOXO,

Hermana Cox

Week 44 Earthquake

Courtney wrote a small note to us this week.  As she was writing her notes to everyone, she experienced a 5.5 earthquake.  The earthquake was 150 miles south of Mexico City.  They felt the quake and it caused the ground to shake and buildings to sway.  As far as we know, she is doing well.  She indicated that she has been transferred out to Ixapulaca and back down toward Amecameca.  She has been called to be a sister training leader.  There are 6 sisters in the mission who act in a similar capacity as zone leaders and train groups of sister missionaries.  She stated that she was surprised, humbled, and scared.  Despite having many other sisters who are more qualified than her, she said she was grateful that the Lord qualifies those whom he calls.  She concluded by saying that nothing like Thanksgiving exists in Mexico.  She sent us a picture of her new haircut.  Thank you all for supporting her.  We hope you have a great Thanksgiving!

Love,

The Cox’s

WEEK 43 HUMP DAY!!

My Little Friend

Navidad is Coming!

This week, I completed half of my mission.  The time has really gone by fast, but I am happy.  I have nine months left !!  This week, I have felt really good in my health.  My companion and I were having some weird symptoms and so we took some medicine that cleans the beetles out of your stomach.  We have felt a lot better !! 

This week we had to play “Ghostbusters” again.  Last week, we went on a visit and I felt that something was weird in the house.  I felt physically sick and I said we were going to bring the Elders over at the next visit.  When we came this week, this person started talking about a few things that they had seen and the Elders blessed the house.  After the blessing, I felt a lot better. 

My companion and I want to make t-shirts that say “Amo la lay de castidad.”  On the back, we would put the scripture Hebrews 13:4.  When people wonder why they have problems in their relationships, it is almost always dealing with these four words … the law of castidad.  Law does not mean option.  The commandments are not options !!   

Les amo … Hermana Cox

Weeks 39-42 “HELLO NOVEMBER"

Hermana Cervantes: “Hermana, I know why you have a tall body.”

Hermana Cox: “Why?”

Hermana Cervantes: “So that you can hug more people!!”

In front of a house we have never visited before …

Hermana Cox: “I wonder if they speak English?”

Hermana Cervantes: “Why?”

Hermana Cox: “Because the sign on the door says ‘Pumpkin Friends’”

Later in the day, we are contacting and a lady rejects our invitation.

Hermana Cervantes: “She is not a pumpkin friend.”

We were able to go to the Mexico City Temple this week and I did a session in Spanish !!  It was a really spiritual experience to go to the temple as a missionary and apply the things I have learned here.  I can’t wait to go more frequently when I get home.
 

We had interviews with President Crickmore this week.  I always love talking with him.  He is humble and he loves us.  I also was able to talk to Hermana Crickmore.  She caught me up on all the latest sports updates.  It looks like the Utes have dropped a few positions and the Aztecs have an impressive starting lineup in bball this season.

This week, I have had a quote by President Ezra Taft Benson rolling around in my mind.  It is in Spanish, but it basically says that God gives us general guidelines.  However, he wants us to figure out the details for ourselves.  The more the Lord has to command us, the less blessings we will receive.  The people that have progressed the least spiritually are the people that need to be commanded in many aspects.

I’ve been thinking maybe the reason why God doesn’t want to command us in all things and that we do many things of our own free will is because he wants us to become like Him.  He wants us to become Gods.  I would imagine that in order for Gods to have the intelligence and imagination to create worlds and life, they would have to create the rules for themselves and do and create things that never before have existed.  They have to be agents unto themselves.

If you have time this week, please watch the Mormon Message “La Esperanza De La Luz De Dios.”  It should be something like “The Hope of the Light of God.” 

This week is going well here.  We have some investigators that are chosen.  When we taught the Word of Wisdom to one of our investigators, we asked him if he had a problem with any of these things.  He said that he drank and smoked every once in a while.  He also drank coffee pretty often.  We asked him if he could give this up.  He said, “Hermanas, I have to because it is a requisite to be baptized !!”  My companion and I just smiled and said, “Very good, hermano.”

I love being a missionary !!  I love you. 

XOXO,  Hermana Cox

Week 36 - 38 Bird Zoo

Week 34 & 35 - El Oro Ha Llegado

 Our Investigators

This week was a week of miracles for us.  First, we went to the temple with an investigator and two less active members to see the visitor’s center.  They are all women and none of them are married.  When we got there, my companion was like “look!”  In front of the temple at 4 o’clock on a Tuesday were a bride and her family taking pictures on the front temple steps.  I was like “Let’s Go!”  We ran the hermanas over there and they were all like “Ahhhhh!” They started asking questions about what they needed to do to enter the temple and were super motivated to start the process. 

The second miracle is that we went to a multi-zone meeting in Amecameca.  We had enough money to get there, but we honestly didn’t have enough money to get back. Ha-ha. We honestly didn’t know which combi (mini bus) to ride and a bunch of them were passing by.  Finally, we decided to take one that said Chalco.  When it got close to time to pay, we asked the driver how much it would be (you can’t see the driver in combi's – there’s like a black caged window and you talk to him through a little hole).  The driver was like “nothing, hermanas.”  We were like “what?”  He said, “No hermanas.”  “I’m the hermano that just spoke in your meeting.”  “Don’t worry, I will take you where you need to go.”  We had some Elders with us and they were like “how did you expect to get home if you didn’t have money?”  We were like, “well, the Lord will provide.”  Turns out he did!

The third miracle is that one of my investigators from San Pedro is getting baptized!  She is the one that could not hear, talk, or read.  Wow, I am so happy for their family.  I wanted to go to the baptism, but it’s super far away and we wouldn’t have gotten back before curfew.

The fourth miracle is that the other night we were returning back to our house and we were hungry.  We had 5 pesos, so we thought we would stop at this bread shop and buy sweet bread or something.  So we picked one out, and when we went to pay, the lady said, “take it.”  We were like, “we can’t just take it!”  She said, “I’m not a Mormon, but my husband is. Just take it.”  We were really grateful!

The fifth miracle occurred when a man contacted us in the street a few weeks ago.  We weren’t able to visit him until just a few days ago.  He is literally the definition of a golden investigator.  He told us he wants to be closer to God.  He’s studied our religion and it’s clear that the church has had a lot of success, so God must be with us.  We talked to him about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, the two hardest things for people to accept – and he was like, “Well, everyone believes in something, right?”  He said that it was a blessing to have the missionaries in his home and he felt a lot of peace.  He cried when we asked him if he would follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized, and he said yes.  He is so ready for the gospel.  During the lesson, I kept having this image come to my mind of him in temple clothes.

I have felt true joy many times this week.  The Lord has truly been watching over us.  I am grateful for the miracles that occurred this week.  I am also grateful that the Lord has blessed me with the BEST family and friends in the world.  You guys really are the best, of this I am sure.  I love you!

XOXO,

Hermana Cox

Week 33 – SaNtA BaRbArA !! (She lives in Ixtapaluca, Santa Barbara, MX)

We went to see other pyramids in our area with a cute family

This week we went to visit Paola, one of our investigators.  She said that the other night her Mom was questioning her about the church and she started whipping out answers about the Book of Mormon and how after his resurrection, Jesus appeared in the Americas, etc. She said, “I don’t know how, but I started saying things that we learned from the lessons, and things I had never heard before.”  We shared with her John 14:26, about how the Holy Ghost reminds us of those things we have learned.  She said she is happy because she has found real “tranquility” or peace and she said she knows it doesn’t come from napping or watching TV.  It comes from learning more about God.

We are visiting with family right now that is super awesome.  The daughter is 16 and super pretty.  My comp and I have been visiting a lot with her and her Mom.  Monse (the daughter) loves English, so we practice together, she’s way cute.

Yesterday was the rededication of the temple in Mexico.  Elder Eyring and Elder Holland came and we got to watch it for television.  Elder Holland said that we should be precisely where the Lord wants us to be – and the Lord wants us to be in the temple.  In respect to family history work he said “we promised our parents we would not forget them” and “I will keep the promises I made.”  Elder Eyring said that the temple is a place of illumination.  He said, “You will receive answers for the very things of which you have prayed.”  He also said, “Answers will also come to the questions that we have not been wise or humble enough to ask.”  I loved that part.

“We build temples so that the Son of God will have a place to manifest himself unto his people.”

I love the temple.  Our zone has an appointment to go at the end of October.  I was able to assist the open house five times.  I can’t wait to go back.  I testify that the temple is “la casa del senor.” 

Love, Hermana Cox

Week 32 – Ixtapaluca and Wal-Mart

Courtney didn’t have time to write a letter, but here is an excerpt from her quick note to us...

I have great news!  I am happy and healthy!  I am in Ixtapaluca, Santa Barbara and my companion is Hermana Cervantes from Sonora, Mexico.  She is super nice and has 29 years.  We get along well and I will learn lots from her.  My area is great!  I feel like I am in America.  There is a Wal-mart and a Sam’s Club close to my house.  We went to Wal-mart today and I have never felt weirder in my life.  I felt like I was just walking around Wal-mart in LV.  The members’ houses are a little more American and so is their food.  I have made some awesome friendships here already and we took a lot of members to the temple this week.  I got an email from one of the young women in my old area saying she missed me!   I don’t need you to send me anything for Christmas.  I just want a picture of San Diego and for you to tell me that we are going there when I get home!  I will send pictures next week!

Love, Hermana Cox

Week – 30 & 31 Temple Trips, Lepers, Dogs, & Songs

Sorry it has been so long since I have written.  But do not fear, I have stories for you.  First, the temple in Mexico City is being rededicated, so right now they are holding the open house.  Hermana Guerber and I were able to go twice with investigators.  They were very impressed by its beauty and took lots of pictures of the outside.  Because it’s in Mexico, the temple has a lot of cool Aztec designs.  My favorite room was the sealing room because everything was white and bright.  Last week my comp and I, and our zone leaders went to visit a hospital where about 15 leper patients are living.  We visited with about 5 of them and sang them hymns.  They loved it and one of them tried to sing the hymn back to us!  It was a special experience.  We have washed 4 dogs in the last 2 weeks, doing service.  I am really overcoming my fear of dogs.  These past few weeks Hermana Gruber and I have started every lesson with singing a hymn.  Our voices fit together quite nicely and we have had a lot of spiritual experiences in our lessons through music.  One of our less actives was crying when we sang, “I Need Thee Every Hour.”  Hermana Guerber goes home tomorrow so these past few days have been almost all food appointments because everyone wants to feed her before she goes home … and give her things, which has been great for me!  I have met a lot of really sweet families.  I gave a talk about missionary work in sacrament meeting.  My health little by little is improving, and by the end of my meds I should be rid of all evil.  “Adversity teaches us things we cannot learn otherwise.  Adversity helps to develop a depth of character that comes in no other way….  We can learn wisdom, become stronger and experience joy.”   –Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Week 29 - Marriage Proposal

Courtney seems to be doing better with her health.  She has been working each day and says she feels “super good.”  She has been serving in Amecameca, but transfers are this coming Monday.  She is not sure where she is going but thinks maybe a town called Ixtapaluca.  She expects to be transferred, in part, because her companion, Sister Grueber, is finishing her mission and returning home.  When asked about Sister Grueber, Courtney said, “She reminds me a lot of Marisa, we are having a good time.”  She also said, “My companion and I got a wedding proposal this week.  He even offered us his chickens.  He also told us to kiss him and just pretend that we were his granddaughters.  We told him we can’t do it.  He told us to ask for God’s permission.  I told him … God says no.  Haha!”

Thank you for your support and prayers for Courtney!

Week 28

Courtney has been sick for 3-4 weeks now, but is starting to feel better.  She is sorry she hasn't felt well enough to write a lot.  Here are some excerpts from her email to Darren and I.  We appreciate your prayers in her behalf.

I am in Amecameca now (10 miles north of San Pedro).  I have a new companion and her name is Hermana Guerber and she is from Arizona and she leaves in two weeks.   We haven't had a ton of lessons so I don't have a lot of stories.  We did find a new investigator that is so ready to be baptized.  Her husband and daughter died in the same month.  She said that she was sad and we were like "hey!" we have a message of happiness for you.  I am doing better with my health right now.  I am not as tired anymore and my body doesn't hurt.  I am out working every day.  After the storm, comes the sunshine.  I have been feeling more sunshine the last couple of days.  I am feeling a lot better.  A lot.  Ok love you, bye!

Week 25 - Baptism and Influenza

Many things have come to pass.  I am sorry I haven't written in awhile.  Hermana Salome was baptized.  The ordinance was a little tricky because she can't see, but we got it all worked out.  She told us she had a dream.  Two of her children passed away when they were just babies.  In her dream, she said that her two children were standing in front of the church, and it was weird because they were not babies.  They had grown up and looked like they were 6 or 7 years old.  They were waving her on and saying "Mom, we are waiting for you here."  I am grateful for that dream because it really helped her to have the faith to be baptized. 

We went to visit her a few days after her baptism and she was super sick because her blood sugar was really high.  We talked with her husband and he said he was heating up the food for them to eat.  He left for a second and I checked to see what  was heating up on the stove.  He was heating two pots of farm milk with rice.  My comp and I ran home and whipped up a quick chicken noodle soup with eggs and gave it to them to eat.  We went back to visit them two days later and they were like "Yeah, we are leaving, we are going to go live and work on a ranch in the mountains."  We were really happy for them because they have work, but we will miss them.  I know that her husband finally finding a job that can feed them is a blessing of Hermana Salome's faith to be baptized.

Hermana Lourdes was also baptized and her countenance has changed so much.  Before she was always so stressed and worried all the time and now she's smiling and calm.  We are really happy for her. 

We had changes this week and my companion and I are training a new missionary here in San Pedro.  We had a lesson this week with one of our investigators who can't read, talk, or hear.  He is married to a hermana in our ward and we have been teaching him through videos.  In this lesson, we watched a video of Christ performing miracles.  After the video, the wife talked to him through a type of sign language they can understand between the two of them.  She told him that if he has faith, he can be healed through a priesthood blessing and be able to talk. 

We had her ask if he would come to church and he said no because he has fear that his parents will be angry with him.  She explained to him that the has his own family to take care of, too.  I was thinking "What do I do when I need something from my Dad?"  I called over the daughter and I said, "Go give your dad a hug and a kiss!"  She did it haha !  Then he started crying and we talked about how Jesus would be sad if he wasn't at church.  He said he would come and he and his wife were crying and she was hugging him.  It was sweet and the Spirit was there.

Our cute new companion is from El Distrito Federal, two hours from the mission.  She is perfect. She is so ready to be a missionary and we are practicing her English because she wants to go to BYU ... just like me!  Right now, I have "influenza."  I have to stay in bed for a little bit.  Hermana Crickmore said it was going to be a surprise, but since I am sick she told me the exciting news ... her daughters are coming !!  She wants us to have a basketball game!  I love my family and friends. 

XOXO, Hermana Court 

Weeks 23 & 24 "Staying in San Pedro"

I am staying in San Pedro and I am super happy!  My companion and I are training a new missionary and we will have all four wards in San Pedro.  I will try to send more about our baptisms and more pics next week.

Love, Hermana Cox

Week 22 – Baptisms and …”Go Rebels !!”

This week we have had a lot on our plate.  We have 4 wards right now.  And that leaves a lot for us to do.  We will be having 2 baptisms this week.  Our first is Sister Lourdes.  She has a ton of things going on in her life right now with school, work, and family.  She is super stressed, and I am excited for her to be baptized and watch the blessings pour down in her life.  I asked her in the last lesson why she really wants to be baptized because I was a little worried about her intentions.  She said that she wants to have faith and to seguir adelante (press forward).  She said she wants to be baptized for herself.  That was so awesome to hear because we have tried to work through so many doubts with her.  We had to break the fear of changing religion.  I am so happy to finally see her baptized.  I talked about Sister Salome last week.  She is also being baptized this week.  WE LOVE HER LOTS !!

As you know, President and Sister Crickmore are huge SDSU Aztec fans, so I taught my comp how to say "GO REBS!"  She said it to President Crickmore and he thought it was so funny.  He was super happy and said we are going to a game together when we get home !! 

Also, there are a ton of people with razors and four wheelers that go riding on a trail next to the volcano.  What do you think about that?  (Her father thinks it is time to RIDE)

XOXO,            

Hermana Cox

Week 21 - Dogs and Cannons

Scaling Wall for Photo of Parade

Parade for the Saint San Pedro

Popo

Happy 4^th!  I will be dreaming of hot dogs and fireworks this week.  Here, the dogs aren’t edible and the “fireworks” are more like cannons.  This week was fun.  The town had a fiesta for the Saint San Pedro, which means there was ongoing music and cannons shaking our window panels throughout the night.  It also means there were a ton of Catholics, so we contacted like crazy and beat the record in San Pedro with 101 contacts.  My companion and I seemed to run into quite a few barrachos this week.  They prefer to talk to us in English, so I try to make friendly conversation as we walk by.  My companion asked me this week if I knew the barrachos.  I said no.  She thought that was super funny.  It is also funny when she started to understand what they’re saying.  I hand them word of wisdom pamphlets.  It is my favorite thing to do.

On a more spiritual note, we have a baptismal date coming up very soon (2 weeks) for a lady named Salome.  She’s practically blind and lives in a little house made out of wooden planks & cardboard boxes. We love her lots.  She likes going to church and taking the discussions, but she is sad she can’t read the Book of Mormon.

It really makes you reevaluate what your complaints are about in life.  I’m grateful that I have a house with walls and eyes to see.

I’m grateful that we have the opportunity to read the Book of Mormon today, and one day Hermana Salome will too.

I Love You.

XOXO,

Hermana Cox

Week 20

Service with Hermana Ivonn and my new companion Hermana Aju

My House

Week 19 - TRANSFERS AND THE CRICKMORE’S

Courtney did not write a letter this week, but she gave us a very quick update. 

 Transfers:  She and her companion, Hermana Castillo, were split up last week.  Courtney is grateful for Hermana Castillo and for helping strengthen her. Courtney is staying in San Pedro.  She now has her first Latin companion from Guatemala, Hermana Aju.  She indicated it was a difficult week because she did not have the English language to rely upon if needed.

We received word from President and Sister Crickmore that Courtney is doing well.  They indicated that Courtney “puts her hair in a ponytail, has a smile, and gets to work.”  They were pleased with Courtney and Hermana Castillo’s service in San Pedro.  Thank you for your support and prayers on Courtney’s behalf!

Week 18 - The 3 Niños

     Our 3 niños were baptized!  The service was so awesome!  Their parents showed up, which is great because their Dad is inactive and their Mom is very Catholic!  Our mission president and his wife came and so did 10 other missionaries!  We had a big surprise for the niños and their family.  Their cousin is on a mission, and he Skyped in and gave a talk!  He bore his testimony and talked to them about serving a mission.  There wasn’t a dry eye in the room.  Their parents were crying, along with the rest of the family, who is very less active.  The uncle that baptized them said it was his first time baptizing anyone and he had never felt anything so beautiful in his life. 

     After the baptism, all the members lined up against the walls in the hallway, waiting to shake President Crickmore’s hand.  It was like he was the prophet, they were in complete awe.  President drove us to a taco place in Ameca and bought all the missionaries tacos. 

     He was funny.  He never tells missionaries if they have changes before the zone leaders announce it Sunday night.  But after the baptism, we went up and shook his hand and I was like, “Thank you so much for coming President.  It meant so much to us and the members.” And he just looks at us and goes. “Ahh! Fine!  I don’t know how, but you guys always get stuff out of me.  Hermana Castillo – you have changes.  Hermana Cox – you’re staying here and your companion is Latin.”  Ha ha.  Then the other missionaries started asking him and he was like, “You know the rule, don’t ask me again, you’ll find out Sunday.”

Week 17 - FRY BREAD

I have entitled this entry FRY BREAD, to attract the attention of my Aunts and inform them of my new knowledge of how to make fry bread!

We have been working like crazy this week to prepare for the baptism of three of our investigators this Saturday!  They are brothers – ages 9, 10, 11.  Their Dad is inactive and their Mom is not a member, but they want to be baptized.  We have been teaching them and they are very intelligent.  I am excited for them!  Two of the boys want to serve missions when they are older!

Our cute Little Alma is doing great.  We are going to teach her about the temple this week.

It has been pouring rain here EVERYDAY.  The streets have officially turned into rivers.  For this, I have my rain boots.  It is very cold and the volcano is raining toxic ash that looks like snow.

 I Love You.

XOXO, Hermana Cox

Week 16 - Alma, Pyramids, and Bednar

Alma

Visiting the Temple with Our Investigators 

Our Little Monkey

Snow on Popo

The Pyramids

Sorry, for not writing for so long!  Mother’s Day was awesome and it was fun getting to see/talk to the fam.  Sometimes it’s weird to think that Vegas still exists and America, haha.

Wonderful things have happened!  Alma was baptized!!!  The service was sweet.  She came out of the water and hugged us and was crying.  One of our investigators said the opening prayer.  She had a fiesta afterwards.  It was a great day!

Elder Bednar really did come to visit.  He kept saying, “You should hear things today that are not said.”  He was super nice to the sisters.  He said that men do 99 things terrible and 1 thing “alright” and then they pound on their chest and say, “yeah!”  But women do 99 things perfectly and 1 thing “just normal” and they’re like, “Oh, what have I done!”  He told the sisters that we are beating ourselves up too much.  We need to be a little better than we were the day before and that is enough. In the scriptures, Jesus asks us to be perfect, but the Latin root of perfect is complete.

We went to the PYRAMIDS!!!  There are 3.  The sun, moon, and stars.  We had a tour guide who was a return missionary so he gave us the “low down” of spiritual secrets.  It was positively cool.  But we will save the secrets of the temples for another day.

XOXO,

Hermana Cox