Mexico #2

Well...after the interesting first week....Im still alive!

So we went in for interviews with the president this week and the first thing he said to me was, you are alive! Haha he heard about all of the interesting things that went down my first week and he and all of the american missionaries laughed and laughed and laughed and told me I had just experienced once of the worst first weeks they have ever heard of. Soo.... i know my first letter from Mexico was not exactly the happiest or most uplifting but now you know for a fact that I was not overreacting- it really was a HARD first week and everyone else thought so too haha. The president also then told me that my area is the most dangerous and ghetto area in the Puebla North mission and afte hearing more about my life when he first met me he said he sent me here because he knew I could handle it.

....Thanks President.....I guess....ha 

So yeah, this week was definitely a million times better than last week. For starters, we got PLUMBING which means no more bucket showers for me. 

Which is too bad because I was really getting the hang of showering out of a bucket. Im serious- it totally is a hidden talent of mine that I did not discover until here in Mexico! ha

We also got rid of all of the bed bugs and spiders that had infested our house so thats a huge plus. 

Along with getting house issues in order, this week was so good because I really focused on changing my attitude. I realized that I was missing so many blessings and miracles because they came from unexpectd places and often I focus on what and how I think things should be and I end up missing the beauty of what is. I love Mexico. I love the dirty streets and dirt roads. I love the fact that I go to bed exhausted everynight because I walk for miles everyday and I love, LOVE these people. I have met the most Christ like, humble people here and I just love them. Right now I am trying to love Spanish, and the drunk men that lunge at me and scare me. Haha it may take awhile but Im working on it.

Anyways this week was freaking crazy. It started off with cinco de mayo and the big parade and let me tell you, this parade was NOT anything like an American parade. We went with one of our investigators and I have seriously never seen so many people in my life try to squeeze onto bleachers. People were screaming and the Mexican police had their guns out and were shouting over loud speaking and yeah..it was crazy.

The funniest part? Ok so the parade was 3.5 hours long (kill me) and they went through the history of Mexico with floats. For some reason they had floats dedicated to specific countries and so I was pumped when the American float came out. It was decorated like the battle of Gettysburg and so they had a huge Abraman Lincoln, a flag, and cannon balls. Well they ended up lighting those cannon balls off and all of a sudden the entire float catches into flames!

I was basically sitting there like uhh...... did they just set fire  Abe Lincolns head on purpose??.....

Buttt by the way people started reacting I soon realized that it was totally an accident. They couldnt get enough water in time to put the fire out so it completely burned to the ground.

God bless America.

Also during the parade a man got bucked off a horse and died. Like I said, Mexico is crazy.

This week we also woke up to an earthquake. I have now been through 2 earthquakes and have lived. I am pretty much invincible to them now. hahah sike. Knock on wood, knock on wood.

Ok remember how in my last email I talked about how in Mexico all of the really mean dogs walk on the roofs? Well I wasnt kidding. So many times this week I pretty much had a heart attack by walking under a roof only to have a huge dog lunge at my face. So far they have all stayed on the roofs but I just know that the time will come when one actually decides to take that leap off and attack my face. Well anyways all of the dogs on the streets are super nice and laid back. Well most of them that is.

So Gonzales and I are walking past this house and I see 3 weiner dogs sitting there. And so I start to tell her about how my family once had a weiner dog and so for some stupid reason I get the idea that I am going to go over and pet them.

Im such an idiot. I know.

The second I get near them all three of them start attacking and lunging at us and so my companion takes off screaming and sprinting and all I can think is, shoot if I dont outrun her these weiner dogs are going to kill me and that would be a embarrasing cause of death that would be printed in the newspaper.

And so all of Mexico witnessed two missionaries screaming and running for their lives from 3 weiner dogs that WOULD NOT give up.

It was terrifying. And one of the funniest thigns that has ever happened to me. Seriously I was dying it was so funny. 

We also had alot of encounters with drunk men (as always) and I know my last letter freak some of you out but I want to let you know about the miracles that have happened this past week.

Miracle #1- So we had a late teaching appoitment and we were walking home in the dark which we try not to do. There were no taxis or buses in that part and so our only option was to walk really fast and pray really hard. Well we got to this one road we were trying to cross and all of a sudden we see this huge group of about 7 drunk men and they were coming straight for us and to be honest we were scared and I was not feeling good about the situation at all. And so I told my companion to keep her eyes open and I was going to say a prayer outloud in ENGLISH because I did not want to have to think really hard about saying one is spanish. The men were really close and were calling out to us when I ended my prayer and seriously seconds after I ended my prayer a car pulled up. It was a recent convert we didnt know. She pulled over and said, you guys are missionaries arent you? Do you need help? YES. She pulled up just in time those men approached us and got us out of there and home.

Miracle #2- Ok so in Mexico people have these metal doors that lock from the outside and can only be opened from the inside. The metal doors then lead to a hallways which leads to the front foor. Anyways, we were contacting people and ended up on a street with not many people. We had tried to visit a member and knocked on their gate but they wernt home and so we were standing outside their house talking about what to do next. Without warning a man came up and started talking to us and the next thing I know, he grabs me and wont let me go. Ok, I have never been that scared in my entire life. But the second he grabbed me there was a gust of wind and the members metal gate opened. I ended up being able to pull away and my companion and I ran through the metal door and slammed it behind us. We were completely safe. After, we stood there in complete shock because there was no one there on the other side to unlock the gate but it had opened for us exactly when we needed it to.

I know for a fact that God is mindful of his missionaries and I know more specifically that he is looking out for a Hermana Wells and a Hermana Gonzales. There are angels protecting us and I feel and see that protection on a daily basis. God is so so mindful.

Anyways so those two experiences were pretty amazing. Along with miraculous experiences with drunk men we have also had some hillarious ones. 

I got proposed to this week! He went to Jared! ha....not. For some reason I always thought my first proposal would be....less creepy..... haha but dont worry I shot that one down real quick.

We also were stalked by a man wearing a , I LOVE SATAN shirt. hahahaha it was hillarious. Bless his soul.

Being a missionary is pretty cool, in fact I kinda like this missionary thing. Being a missionary is seriously like being a pro stalker. We have little books with every detal of peoples lives written down and let me tell you, we can find ANYONE that we want. Investigators cant hide from us. Whenever we go searching for an investigator that seems to like to play the game, wheres Waldo, I always sing, one way or another Im gonna find ya, im gonna getcha getcha getcha

haha but really. I do. My comp loves it....i think. 

I also like being a missionary because I have completely fallen in love with these people. Right now we are teaching a recent convert, Guadulupe Estrella to read. She is 75 years old. Last time we taught her the alphabet and sounds. It is actually helping me with my spanish also! Haha. She seriously looks like a lamanite out of the BOM because she wears her long hair in 2 braids and she wears leather. She also gives us moldy fruit to take home. Gah, i love her. 

We are also working with the Juarez family who were just baptized. We are getting them ready to attend the temple to be sealed and they are by far my most favorite people in all of Mexico. They are also the poorest. Their house is smaller than my living room and they have dirt floors. When we teach them they let us sit on buckets and they all sit on the floor. They have so little but they are grateful for so much. Last time we taught them about the law of tithing. That is when we found out that the father doesnt have a job and they barely have enough to eat. But do you nkow what? They accepted it without any questions and I was dumbfounded. After the lesson the father said the closing prayer and thanked God for all of his many blessings and I just sat there thinking, every American needs to experience this. What more in life do we need then family and the Gospel? Nothing. 

The last family I am going to talk about is Maria and Mario. Maria was a prostitute and so she has 10 children from 10 different fathers. One of those children, Mario, found the gospel and wants to be baptized. We have been working with the family every single day and I have never seen such a drastic change in people. Mario (age 10) is going to be baptized this Saturday and we are helping Maria become worthy for baptism.

 I have never seen the atonement work such miracles in someones life before. I walk around all day and all I see are unhappy depressed people. But the people that have the gospel or are being exposed to it are different people. I am learning that the miracle of the atonement is not that it can help us through our difficulties but that it transforms us. Maria is changing. I can see it every day. The Juarez family has hope when others dont. Its amazing and I am so so grateful that Gd is granting me the chance to see him perfom his miracles among his children through the power of the atonement.

Haha ok heres a funny story for ya. So on Sunday we had 4 of our investigators at church- 2 of which have baptism dates. Anyways there is a special class for them after sacrament meeting. Anyways during this class the teacher decided to teach about the MIllenium. And like she went into DEPTH about the millenium. All about satans army and how we live happily but then he releases them all and freak I dont think I would have understood it even if it were in English! Our poor investigators. One of them kept leaning over to me and saying what is going on?!

I hear ya sister, I have no clue. 

I pretty much just sat there in horror and thought, well we might as well talk about where Kolob is.

Our poor investigators. 

Anyways thats about it. Lifes good. Spanish sucks. My companion is starting to understand how I feel because the president implemented a program and so I am teaching her English. It frustrates her so much and she hates it and I like, ok now you know how I feel ALL THE TIME! Haha seriously though Spanish is hard. And somtimes I worry that Im not progressing fast enough but I am seriously working my butt off and so I just have to tell myself to chill out and have patience. We will see if it works haha.

Best part of my week:

So I cant communicate with people the way I would like to yet and its been really bothering me because I want them to know how much I really do love and care for them and so this week I decided that if I couldnt talk to them, I could serve them. This week I was praying really hard about how I could serve and one morning I woke up and immediately thought about the Juarez family. Then I realized that they came dressed to church in rags every week because they didnt have anything else to wear. I asked my comp if I could give the mom and daughter some of my skirts and so on Saturday I went over to their house and gave them my favorite and best skirts and let me tell you, when I saw them walk into church that Sunday with those skirts, it was priceless. They wore those skirts better than I ever did and so it was meant to be.

Did I bore you all enough with this long letter? You wont hear from me for another 7 days so its all good. Love you all! 

Hermana Wells

P.S. I heard that Coldplay came out with a new album. Someone please listen to it and tell me how it is. PLease please pleaseeeeeeeee

Had to take a picture of the number someone gave me...

You know how couples take pictures after they have been engaged well i couldn't let the tradition die! this is a pic of us after the guy proposed.