Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Week 51 – Adios Tecalco y Hola Cuautla!


Hermana Blanco & Hermana Martinez


           Hermano Martinez, Hermano Martinez (Harold - Ward Mission Leader),                                                                        Hermana Blanco, Me, & Hermana Martinez

This week was a little different because we had changes on Thursday.  We have new areas in the mission.

On Monday, we went to play basketball in a real gymnasium with 9 elders and about 20 youth.  One of the young men in our ward plays on a club team.  He was able to get us in and we played for a few hours.  I had a few nice shots from the outside!  After that, we went to a hermana’s house with some of the Elders to eat breakfast.  On the way home to Tecalco, there was a lady selling flowers and one of the Elders bought me flowers for my birthday.  It was very nice of him b/c his companions were like, “You don’t even have money for food, why are you buying flowers?”  After breakfast, we played UNO and this other card game that I don’t know what it is called.  It was so fun.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, we worked and visited.  Wednesday night, a brother bought pizza for my birthday and invited the Elders and a young man named Jorge that always accompanies the missionaries.  We also went to our mission leader’s house to say goodbye.  They took pictures with us.  My companion had asked for a blessing from our mission leader earlier in the week.  I don’t ask for blessings very often but I felt prompted to ask.  I am kind of prejudiced to my dad’s blessings.  However, I was feeling a little stressed about opening a new area and so I asked Hermano Harold for a blessing.  The blessings lasted like 10 minutes.  I think I will remember it as one of the really cool experiences of my mission.  He said things that I really needed to hear.  Things I had been praying and thinking about for a while and had not received clear understanding about.  He said that I would be blessed to only look back to see things that I had improved upon.  That was something I needed to hear because sometimes I look back and think “Ah, I did that wrong” or “I could have done that better.”  It isn’t necessarily bad but sometimes I stress over it and Satan can use it to discourage and distract me.  I was really happy to hear those words and know they were coming from the Lord.  He also said, “I can see that God has given you a lot of blessings and that he has more in store for me.”  I wondered if that meant he saw that with his spiritual eyes or was it something he observed being with us.  I have realized on the mission that the Lord has blessed me so much.  When I say that, I mostly refer to my family.  I have a really cool family.

Thursday morning as we were getting ready, Jorge came to say goodbye.  Jorge is a youth that would accompany us and he is crazy good at teaching.  He has a gift for teaching and talking but like to the point where our investigators were left with their mouths hanging open.  He has the knowledge of an 80 year old general authority.  Ah … we love him lots and we will miss him!

A few minutes later, Hermano Harold showed up to say goodbye and give us some last minute advice.  He said, “Hermanas, who am I going to hang out with now?”  (Hermano Harold is the ward mission leader in one of the wards that Courtney is serving in.  He recently returned home from his mission 2 months ago.)  We were with his family for Christmas and New Years and he accompanied us often.  We were like, “It is time for you to make more friends and to find a girlfriend.”  We pray for him that he will find good ones soon.

The family that lives in front of us came to say goodbye.  It was nice of them.  I am going to miss the grandmother because she always told funny stories and checked on us. 

When we went to Cuautla, we traveled in a bus.  As we were going, it was quiet because the view was changing into something we don’t see very often.  GREEN!  We got to the stake center and it had palm trees and it looked like a little resort.  We went with the sisters to our area and they showed us around and then they left the next morning.  Our area is HUGE!   To get to our lessons we walk so much and it is HOT!  I have blisters all over my feet.  It sounds ridiculous but sometimes my body hurts so bad from the sun and walking and carrying my bag that I just want to cry.  I feel like I am on the trek again.

Our house is very RAD!  It reminds me of a chilled pad in Costa Rica J.  I’ll send pics soon.  The bathroom has no door.  It is great, the people here accept our contacts!  I have asked for directions all day long and they help us!  It is so cool.  I love Mexico!

This Sunday we spoke in church and we taught gospel principles.  Our investigator cried in Gospel Principles today when we were talking about God’s love.  She said that when she was little she prayed for a brother, but her Mom was having trouble having children.  She prayed and prayed and her Mom was able to have a son, and she had a brother.  Her brother is also an investigator and he was sitting next to her.  It was like “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!”  We taught another family on Saturday and helped her children with their English homework.  She was so happy that she accompanied us all day today.  We visited another family and he was like “I feel so happy, can you come visit our family every week?”  We contacted a woman in the street and she gave us free horchata and tacos.  SCORE!

We are sad to leave our old area and excited for our new area at the same time.  We are ready to work!!  Thank you for your prayers, letters, and support!   I love you!  

XOXO,
Hermana Cox


Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Weeks 47-50 Feliz Navidad y Prospero Ano

Chalco Mission
Hermana Blanco(Peru), Me, & Hermano Martinez (Ward Mission Leader)






Christmas Night at Hermano Martinez's
I taught everyone how to play Uno, American Style or how the Johnson Family plays (lightning speed).
They loved it!

Here, they celebrate New Years by having big dinners and they dance and light fireworks all night.  I was able to play bball for a couple hours and then we ate a huge dinner with the family of our mission leader.  Today, we played bball in a real gym with like 30 jovenes and elders.  It was good to play on a real court.  We had to say goodbye to our investigators.  I have changes coming.  They are closing Tecalco.  The members are great and they will be able to do the work on their own !!   We have one that we have been teaching and she started crying and it was hard. She was the one that said she had to go to the mountain to pray. Her prayers are the most sincere things I have ever heard. Its like she is sitting in the presence of God when she says them. She hasn't received an answer yet, but she is definitely looking for the truth and I know she will find it. I am going to Cuatla with an American companion and I am still a training leader. The areas of the mission have changed and I will be opening this new area.  It is suppose to be a really great city.  Love you !!