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