Missing Pharmacies, Panic, and Amebas

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!!!!

So....I am going to do this day by day...because I am going to be COMPLETELY honest, it was a hard week. Like SUPER hard.

Tuesday:  We went to district meeting and had a great time, learned a lot. Our district just fits together SO well. After, Hma. Fa'asa and I walked to go eat with a member. I was served fish and Hma. Fa'asa, chicken. I started eating because I was SOOOOO hungry! I was halfway through, and I just felt like I needed to, well, vomit. I ran to the bathroom, did my business and we returned to the house. I just rested at the house the whole day because Hma. Fa'asa got sick too.

Wednesday: So I am going to clarify what happened when I said "Satan Books"....William literally had black magic, Satan worshipping books that his dad gave to his family before his dad was thrown into jail because he murdered someone. We called the Zone Leaders asking what should we do, they said, "Burn them!" And we did. I promise I am fine, it was a scary experience, but I am fine.

We visited William, who came to church this recent Sunday, and he was dressed up like an Elder! MY HEART REJOICED! We watched with him "How to Find Faith in Christ." It is amazing to witness his change. He shared his testimony with us after we watched ... it was powerful! He talked to the Bishop to start his mission papers...I have a feeling he'll be going SOON! :)

We visited Cesar and read Ether 12 with him, and he still definitely wants nothing to do with baptism....absolutely nothing.

Thursday: I woke up in what I like to call, "super pain mode." I didn't sleep very well the night before and so I tried sleeping it off in the morning. As I was asleep, the zone leader Elder Boyce calls Hermana Fa'asa to remind us of something and he asks, "How is Hma. Winsor?" And she tells him that I am sick and that I was sleeping. He tells her that as soon as I wake up, to call Hma. Villarreal (wife of the President).

So I wake up, she tells me what to do and I do it! I tell her what was going on and she said, "Okay, Hermana Winsor you need to look for the Pharmacy Farmacia a La Oro." Sweet, so I write down the name in my agenda, we get ready to go search for this pharmacy to talk to the doctor and get some meds. And then I realized, "Aubri, you have never heard of this pharmacy and you have no idea where this pharmacy is."

So we go to a member’s house asking if they knew where it was, they give us an idea. We go to this area, it's not there. We pull over a taxi to ask, he drives 10 minutes away OUTSIDE our area/30 away from our house to pharmacy that isn't even called "Farmacia a la Oro," which is in an area that I don't recognize. Now I am not only in pain, sick and tired...I am irritated, and nervous. Good thing it was during the day!

We call some missionaries, our district leader, EVERYONE and they give us 982 different directions. We go try to find all of the 982 directions and NOTHING. Now I am just beyond irritated, we call Hma. Villarreal and she says, "Just ask your district leader to help you!" Been there, DONE THAT. She hangs up, and we get a call from Elder Boyce and he tells me this, "Honestly Hermana, you can go to ANY pharmacy as long as there is a doctor. You don't have to go to THAT specific one. And that pharmacy doesn't even exist! Besides, what you have? You should honestly go to the hospital asking for a consult. And it won't even be THAT expensive."

My heart dropped. If there is ONE thing I never EVER wanted to do while in Mexico, it would be going to the hospital. He told me I would be okay, that I wasn't going to be admitted to the hospital, but I was going to have blood taken out, I would poo in a cup and talk with a doctor. If I needed ANYTHING, I could call him.

We asked one of the members, Hermana Longoria, to go with us because she KNOWS ENGLISH AND SPANISH. Such a blessing, she was more than willing to go with us to help us out. We talk to the doctor, he does some studies, Hermana Longoria translates....it is going well! He gave us some cups to do our business in, and tells us to come back to take out blood (And I thought "Awwwww HECK NO. My mom isn't here.")

Handy dandy cups.....embarrassing.

And as soon as we went to go pay for it, we were told it was going to be a cheap and we had the money for "cheap." We find out the ONE appointment was 130 AMERICAN DOLLARS (1311.50 pesos), my heart dropped. I gave them my mission card, nothing...American card, nothing....and we did not have enough cash.

Hma. Longoria gives the pharmacist her card, "Lo pagaré." WHAT? We tried reasoning with her, "Hermanas, don't worry about it. You can pay me back once you have the money. I want to help!" She pays for it! I am SO grateful for her!

We go back later that day to take out blood and I was starting to panic a bit....(Mom, you know me.) And Hma. Longoria was there by my side comforting me, like this, "Ah, Hermana! Stop worrying! It doesn't even hurt!" hahaha. Tough love, love it. 

Yeah, yeah....see that RED DOT?! Proof that they took blood outta me.
And Mom, you weren't even there! IMMA ADULT! hahaha

We (yes, Hermana Fa'asa too) then get ULTRASOUNDS!! It's not a girl, it's not a boy, ... it's amebas! Yay! hahaha. Got to have a little humor. The doc tells us to come the next day to "read the results"....

 

It's amibas!!!!

Friday: We go back to the hospital, but this time it is just Hma. Fa'asa and I because Hma. Longoria is an English Teacher 8:00am to 1:00pm. We go to the hospital at 10am for our 10:30am appointment, we wait and wait and wait and wait.....it hits 11:00am and the doctor still doesn't show up.

His secretary comes out and says the doctor wants Hma. Fa'asa to have a face x-ray to check her nose because she has been having colds and nose congestion. I ask the secretary if it is TRULY necessary, and apparently it was. We take her x-ray and while I am in the room with the radiologist, and I ask her how much the x-ray with cost, "1500 pesos." I about die! I definitely don't have that money...I don't know what to do. When we go to the pharmacy to pay, we ask if we can go to a nearby bank to take out money, "No, we will not let you leave until you pay. You have to pay in the moment."

 

Hermana Fa'asa's incredibly expensive head scan....and they found nothing. GOSH.
But it was pretty cool to watch the xray :)

Panic mode begins. I ask her if we could call someone (Um, like the district leader....or Heavenly Father). She lets us and I call Elder Ouderkirk telling him the situation. He told us he is going to try to find money and he'll be at the hospital to help us out. We wait, and Elder Boyce calls and says for us to call Hma. Villarreal. As soon as Hma. Villarreal answers, she is not using a "firm voice" (*cough cough* Mom and Dad...haha)...she is YELLING at me. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING! YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO CALL THE INSURANCE PEOPLE FIRST TO SET AN APPOINTMENT SO THEY CAN PREPARE TO PAY FOR IT BLAH BLAH BLAH. How have you been paying for this?!?!?!" I answer trying to hold back my incredibly obvious shaky voice, "Um, a member went with us and when we found out how expensive it was...she paid for it." Hma. Villarreal flipped her lid, "WHAT!?!?! A MEMBER IS NEVER SUPPOSED TO BE WITH YOU IN THE HOSPITAL AND TO PAY FOR YOU!" "I'm sorry Hma. Villarreal, I honestly didn't know to do. Elder Boyce told me just to come to the hospital to ask for a consult and that's what I did." Mom, Dad...you'd be proud that I did not raise my voice...I was calm.

She ends up hanging up on me because I couldn't understand most of her Spanish. Now I am in absolute TEARS, I am officially in "panic mode." And then, in walks Hma. Longoria, an angel Heavenly Father sent us. She asks us what was going on, and we explain everything. Hma. Villarreal sends a text message asking for some information on my insurance card of the mission. Hma. Longoria tries calming us down, and the doctor comes in. We go into his office with our ultrasounds and results for him to read. We are talking to him and Hma. Villarreal calls, so I give the phone to Hma. Longoria while we talk to the doctor.

Apparently that is ALSO not okay, because Hma. Villarreal starts yelling at the member! "Why do you have the missionaries’ phone?! Who are you?!" Hma. Longoria explains everything, who she is and why she is with us....that we are talking to the doctor. She hangs up on the member and I am still in tears, panicking...feeling like I completely failed in LIFE. 15 minutes later, Hma. Villarreal calls again, with a "firm voice"  "....Hermana Winsor." "Yes." "Is this the missionaries’ phone or a member’s phone?" "Our phone." "Then why did the member have it?" "Because we were talking to the doctor and I was stressed out." Little did she know, I was still stressed out. "That's not an excuse. Why did a member have a missionary phone?" "Because she wanted to help us." "Not an excuse...they should NEVER have your phone." I put the phone on speaker phone and she says this, "The member was very angry with me and had an angry tone in her voice." Hma. Longoria hears EVERYTHING!! She hangs up, and I burst into tears.

Luckily Hma. Longoria is very easy going and couldn’t care less...but she was NOT talking with an "angry tone"... she does NOT talk like that AT ALL. Now I am not only stressed out and panicky...I am shamed and embarrassed. I never knew ANY of these things....I didn't know!!!

The doctor gives us our prescriptions, we work with the insurance and they pay for EVERYTHING and Hma. Longoria gets her money back. By the time we left, it was 3pm and it was raining HARD outside. (Which was awesome. It was like Heavenly Father was like "Hey, be happy. Here is some awesome rain.") 

When it rains...IT POURS! Hna Fa'asa heard her first "Bomb-like thunder"! :)

We went straight home, I did NOT want to work. I was mentally, emotionally, physically drained and incredibly discouraged. We have a multi-zone conference this Thursday in Zacatecas and the President and his wife will be there...I am incredibly nervous to go! Pray for me! hahaha! I am sure Hma. Villarreal was stressed out this day and I am not angry with her, I forgive her for her reaction.....no hard feelings :)

Saturday: We went to contact 2 ancient investigators, Eduardo and Federico. We go to their house and they seem excited to receive us...but nervous...which makes me nervous. Their house is long and their mom is there. "Pasen! Pasen!" And they take us to the very far end of their house, farthest away from their front door. They keep talking at the same time, asking us questions…so we were overwhelmed. They walk into a separate house and I hear LITERALLY a voice telling me, "Get out."

Now I am on high alert...."Come in hermanas!" We cautiously walk in the room and they tell us to sit down, we sit down...once again, "Get out."

They sit in front of us, still talking nervously at the same time. I am holding my umbrella thinking, "If they lunge...I need to hit them as hard as I can. And Hma. Fa'asa has her pepper spray." I look at Hma. Fa'asa and tell her that we need to get out.

I finally ask them if we could share a message with them outside. They agree and we go outside, but I don't feel ANY better. They keep talking/laughing nervously, very fidgety. "GET OUT AUBRI."

I tell them "Look, we have an appointment but it was nice meeting you!" Federico says goodbye but Eduardo wants to show us how he, "imagines God." "Come to my room Hermanas! I have a bunch of pictures and you can meet my wife."

He takes us to another room closer to the front door, and we stand outside the doorway, "Come in!" "Uhhh, no we're fine." He shows us pictures of the Catholic Saints, Maria Guadalupe as his wife sits on the bed watching TV. I keep trying to tell him that we need to leave but he keeps talking and talking and talking and TALKING.

"AubriAnna Winsor! GET OUT NOW! Why are you still there?!?!" The voice yells at me. And Hermana Fa'asa tells Eduardo, "Vamos a regresar...mucho gusto!" and we turn around and LEAVE.

I have no idea what would have happened if we didn't listen to that voice. I am so glad for the Holy Ghost and it's warnings. I am grateful that I am WORTHY enough to receive these promptings. We come to find out from the mission leader that the 2 brothers, Eduardo and Federico are actually less actives who are crazy and that we should always bring a priesthood holder with us. CRAZY.

We also visited Hermana Mari and we watched, "Finding Faith in Christ." She told us she only smoked ONE TIME! WOO HOO!!! She also came to church with us!! :)

Sunday: I played the piano in church again! And William and Mari AND Martin and Miriam came! It was an awesome day. We ate Tostadas with the Hernandez Family, and then we went to the Stake Center to receive transfer news.  I will remain in Barrio Alto/Fresnillo for another transfer to finish up Hermana Fa'asa's training. It's like you, Dad, and your mission! haha. Hermana Eliason got transferred to train and open up an area in Aguas :) I am going to miss my "twin" :(

 

We got transfers on Sunday, and Hermana Eliason got transferred to Aguas to OPEN an area and TRAIN :) I miss her and I love her, I miss my "twin" :(

Our distrist did NOT get transfers! :)

Well, this is my week. Crazy and emotionally draining! I hope you are ALL safe! I love you and I promise I am fine! The doctor told me I have amebas growing within me, but I have medicine and I am healthy and good :) I love you all! Keep doin' what ya'll are doin'! Remember you are ALWAYS in my prayers and heck, when you have a prompting....FOLLOW IT! I am grateful we did, I know Heavenly Father will ALWAYS protect us. I love you all, keep strong for me, ya? :) Adios y Dios les bendiga!

LES AMO!
Con amor (y amibas)

Hermana Winsor

"Keep calm & burn Satan books"

May 19, 2014

I know what you are ALL thinkin'...."SATAN BOOKS?!" Yep. Lemme explain...

On Friday we visited William, less active, who wants to serve a mission...but he NEVER goes to church. And he always says, "I always work...it is more complicated than you think." HAH. You obviously haven't been on a mission.... hahaha. Finally we asked him, "Look William, why won't you tell us WHY you won't go to church? You tell us you want to go on a mission, you're 24 years old.... you got to STOP wasting time. We are not going to judge you!" He paused, "Ok, I will tell you.... wait a few moments." He leaves the room and comes back, with a black book. Not just any book, a black bible...Satan's bible. The Holy Ghost FLEW out of the room and my heart dropped. I was TERRIFIED!

Luckily William can understand English, so we told him that if he REALLY thinks this book is going to help him - he is DEAD wrong. "Hermanas, I don't believe in it!" "Well, have you read this book?" "Well...yes." "Whether you don't read it or not, it's STILL not going to help you." We found out his dad (who is in jail for killing someone) gave his FAMILY this book, to "help them with their trials"...bunch a BULL HONKEY to me.

We told William that whether he likes it or not, we would be passing by his house on Sunday to go to church (and he came to church!) After, I felt prompted to ask if he had any more of these books..."Yes." Aw crap. He grabbed not ONE, but 5 more Satan books. We told him that we would be taking ALL the books, and we would be burning them. As we testified of the power of Christ and the Atonement, he looked like he was going to cry... but not like "I feel the Spirit..." type of cry... but like he didn't WANT us to take the books. He literally is NUMB to the Spirit and it is SO sad.

We left the house with 6 Satan books (and we know he has more) to burn, and we did NOT have the Spirit with us until we returned to the house, turned on MoTab and started to rip up/burn the books.... it was nuts. When we returned home in the night, I felt terrified to sleep...I prayed HARD HARD! Never in my LIFE would I have thought that, I, AubriAnna Winsor, would come across Satan Books. Never EVER do I want to come across this kind of material again. I told my district leader, Elder Ouderkirk, about what happened. "Hermana Winsor, yes, the power of Satan is real. And I am sorry to tell you, but you will come across experiences like that in the mission.... but it's through YOU to be scared, or to fight back with Christ and the Spirit." Aw crap, well, if this is what my Heavenly Father wants me to do...so be it!

 ANYWHO, Tuesday night & all of Wednesday I had Intercambios (splits) with another sister missionary, Hermana Azuara (from Mexico City). I learned A LOT!! When we had companionship study, she had me go into the bathroom and on the mirror she taped 2 questions, "What does Christ see in you?" and, "What are you doing to reach your divine potential?" and there was a picture of Christ and my English scriptures opened to 1 Samuel 16:7...

"But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as a man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." 

She told me to take my time so that I could really ponder. And as I sat there looking at myself in the mirror, I know Christ knows that I am trying all I can here. He knows I am worthy and I want to do my best. I loved this exercise and I truly learned a lot about myself. I gained back A LOT of confidence.

AND we taught 10 lessons! TEN LESSONS!!!!! It was amazing. 

We taught all 10 BEFORE 7pm - it felt SUPER awesome :)

Soooo...Cesar doesn't want to be baptized. On Sunday, we went to church with Hermana Dolores (Woo hoo!!! SHE came to CHURCH!!!) and we are sitting there waiting for church to start. We see the mission leader come in, (and we gave him the assignment that EVERY Sunday before Cesar's baptism for Hmo. Avila to drive Cesar to church, since he is SUPER old and can't walk) and he walks in WITHOUT Cesar. I panic, "Is he not at his house? Did he not want to come?"

After Sacrament, I go up to Hmo. Avila asking if Cesar wasn't at his house....and Hmo. Avila replies, "Was I supposed to pass for him?" WHAT. I have never felt SO much rage on my mission, I was so angry!!! I just looked at him like, "You have got to be kidding me....." I reply, "Hermano, we have told you that since you live closer to him and he can't walk...you have to pass by for him."

"You didn't tell me!" I just walked away....We tell him every time we see him, and we saw him about 3 times this week and EVERY time we told him "Hermano, please pass by for Cesar!" "Hermanas, don't worry! I will do it." Nope. He didn't. And when we went to Cesar's house to apologize, he looked at us and bluntly says, "Look, I don't want to be baptized. My wife and daughters said if I change religions, they will kick me out of the house. And besides, I don't even like the church."

We are going to have to drop him... and that stinks MAJOR time. We returned to the house just silent, nothing to say..but EVERYTHING to think about. I don't know when I am going to have my first baptism...but really, I think Father in Heaven doesn't really care if I get a baptism on my mission....he just needs me to plant seeds!

Hermana Dolores' dog had puppies...and we thought this was hilarious...
just look at the color of the dog's hair and color of our skin...
and don't worry, it is not racist, just super true and hilarious how this picture worked out. haha!

 We visited another less active, Evangelina. We found her in front of a Beer Deposit, incredibly drunk. She sees us with a BIG smile and greets us. She goes to give Hermana Fa'asa a hug, and totally chucks her cigarette behind Hermana Fa'asa's back. Then she hugs me and waves her hand behind my back to get rid of the smell of smoke. bahaha. And looking back at the other times we visited her, she ALWAYS complained about her health. Well, now we know WHY.

Family and Friends, don't smoke...don't drink. And if you are going to do it, I will not judge you. If you start complaining about your health, yeah, I will judge ya a bit....with LOTS of love. hahaha. But we walked back to her house with her, she held my hand as I tried keeping her from falling.... gosh dang it.

This week Hermana Fa'asa and I taught 32 lessons and contacted 20 people!! And we have 4 new investigators! A WEEK OF MIRACLES!

HEAR YE HEAR YE! THE GOSPEL IS TRUE!

Here is your assignment: Have a day FULL of positivity. When you get negative, write 10 things that you are grateful for and go tell someone you are grateful for them! You can do it! I love being positive because you truly have the Spirit with you and you just feel HAPPY! 

"I am asking that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that as we go through life we “accentuate the positive.” I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment virtue and effort. I am not asking that all criticism be silenced. Growth comes of correction. Strength comes of repentance. Wise is the man who can acknowledge mistakes pointed out by others and change his course.

“What I am suggesting is that each of us turn from the negativism that so permeates our society and look for the remarkable good among those with whom we associate, that we speak of one another’s virtues more than we speak of one another’s faults, that optimism replace pessimism, that our faith exceed our fears.

“When I was a young man and was prone to speak critically, my father would say: “Cynics do not contribute, skeptics do not create, doubters do not achieve" Do you feel gloomy? Lift your eyes. Stand on your feet. Say a few words of appreciation and love to the Lord. Be positive. Think of what great things are occurring as the Lord brings to pass His eternal purposes." -Gordon B Hinckley 

JUST BE HAPPY! Don't worry, don't stress....you can enjoy this life! I am enjoying not only this life....but this MISSION! :) I reached my 200th day on Sunday and I canNOT believe how fast time is FLYING!!! I love you all. I have less than a year left....I can't believe it. I love this mission and I am grateful for my desicion (is that how you spell that word? English is hard) to go out here!

LOVE YOU ALL! Dios les bendiga! Les amo MUCHO! Til next time... PAZ!

Con amor, Hermana Winsor (or Hermana Weezy, as Hermana Fa'asa calls me)​

At Zone Conference :)

Love my companion :)

And I love Hermana Ferrer :)

Hermana Bingham and I had the SAME skirts at Zone Conference!

Reached my 200th day on the mission on Sunday!!!!

Almost get attacked by a dog and FELIZ DIA DE LAS MADRES! :)

May 12, 2014

Almost get attacked by a dog and FELIZ DIA DE LAS MADRES! :) So nothing happened, but we were walking to a district activity and as we were walking down a certain street, I see a REALLY pretty dog! So what do I say? "Awww hola puppy!" AND IT FREAKS OUT!!! It comes at me barking and trying to bite my feet, while my companion and I are screaming and then finally Hermana Fa'asa lets out a "Zena Warrior Princess" scream -WAAAAHHHHHHH! And the dog runs away....... well, uh.... cool. hahahaha! Our hearts were racing, but we were DYING laughing!

(When we went to Aguascalientes to work with Hermana Fa'asa VISA. This is the sign in front of the Mission Office)

I REALLY enjoyed our talk on Sunday, Mom and Dad :) That was the first time I cried A LOT after hanging up and then 30 minutes feeling relieved. When we talked during Christmas, it took me a whole day to really "recover" haha. 

​(Look at ya'll...just so adorable :) )

So one of the major things that happened this week was, we visited Lourdes and we have been teaching her since December. And she ALWAYS receives us REALLY well! But the thing is, she never EVER wanted to say the closing prayer. "No estoy lista...no estoy lista, hermanas." GAH. It's so frustrating because she tells us she prays in her house. We ask her and ask her but she never does it.

Well, we go visit her en Jueves and we teach her about service. We end the message and I look at her, "Hermana, will you saying the closing prayer?" "Aw Hermana, you know I can't..." "Hermana, I know you can. Even just a small one....it is praying!" She then looks at me and SHE STARTS TO PRAY!!!! I could not stop smiling as I she prayed.

When she ended, I gave her a big hug congratulating her, "Your Father in Heaven is SO proud of you!" It was a great feeling and I smiled for the next 3 hours! haha.

​We also taught Cesar, and he is STOKED to be baptized, but he is having a problem with church attendance....like they ALL do. haha. We taught him the Word of Wisdom and he told us that he had been drinking coffee since he was little....but he was more than WILLING to try to drink something else. It was so awesome, it's starting to get freaky how relaxed he is with everything. We have to move his date back another week because he misses some church meetings. GOSH. DANG IT. JUST GO TO CHURCH! hahaha!

Then on Friday we had interviews with the President and his wife. I am SO grateful for them and their love for each & every missionary. I didn't really enjoy the part where President made me call you Mom and only talk to you for only 3 minutes. hahaha! I definitely cried a bit after we hung up, Mom. :) But I PROMISE I AM FINE! Typhoid is just another story to tell when I get home, along with having Influenza....and almost getting attacked by a dog. It is ALL good!

When we went to Aguascalientes on Tuesday, we left at 6 o clock in the morning, we arrived 9 o clock in the morning and then we get a taxi, tell him our directions to the mission office and he goes, "Uhhh ok.... I don't really know where that is, but I will try." Then he drives us but then after 10 minutes driving, he pulls over and basically tells us, "I don't know where I am going, get out."

We get out and I start to panic a little bit because, well, it is not our area! I call the mission office and they tell us to pull over another Taxi and tell him to go to a certain Colonia. We do that and arrive at the Mission office FINALLY.

The day was really long and I am trying to stay positive for Hma Fa'asa, but she is exhausted blah blah blah. We are both exhausted and had a pretty rough day and we returned home, well, not happy. Hma Fa'asa went to bed early and I just felt bad for how events played out that day and how we went to bed "angry". I wrote her a note saying I am sorry and put it on her desk and waited til the morning. Well, the next morning I woke up with food poisoning so I was in the bathroom all morning and when I returned back, I found a note from Hermana Fa'asa on my desk saying she was sorry...we hugged and laughed of our ridiculousness, now we're good. :)

To allll who are going to serve a mission, when you have problems with your companion WORK IT OUT! Don't just "Let it go"!! Do NOT think that things will just go away, no, WORK IT OUT!!!!! I love my companion and I learn from her every day.

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2001/03/missionary-work-and-the-atonement?lang=eng

Go to this website to read an AWESOME talk by Elder Jeffrey R Holland about Missionary Work and the Atonement. I love this talk and it has truly given me A LOT of comfort about the mission. It has truly helped me understand why missionary work/the mission is SO HARD! 

"If you wonder if there isn't an easier way, you should remember you are not the first one to ask that. Someone a lot greater & a lot grander asked a long time ago if there wasn't an easier way."

I LOVE THIS because it is so true! We are NEVER ever alone!

I love you family, thank you for all that you do and for all your support. I am happy and I love this mission :)

Mom, I love you. I thank my Heavenly Father each day for giving me such an AMAZING Mom! Thank you for teaching me and preparing me for my mission. I have no idea how I would have done this mission without you helping me. I love you Mom and I hope you had a wonderful Mothers Day! FELIZ DIA DE LAS MADRES! Te amo :)

I love you all! Dios les bendiga!

Con amor,

Hermana Winsor

 

Boom. Proof that I wear the dress! Hma Fa'asa took this picture as we were waiting for investigators to come to church.... :) (From Mom: Mentioned in our Skype chat that we hadn't seen "the green dress" yet in her photos. This is the poor garment that was held for ransom along with her Easter candy and iPod in Guadalajara before being returned to me a wrinkled mess. Glad it finally arrived...$50 dress totaled $157 in postage to ship - twice.)

We played soccer today for P day as a district and the ball flew over the fence. Elder Ouderkirk climbed over
and we decided to shoot this photo :)

We also bought a huge Coca Cola bottle and Mentos....it wasn't very exciting. haha!
Elder Ouderkirk was super excited and then became disappointed after the poor result. Poor kid. haha.

6 months!!! I DID IT!

Cinco de Mayo

Wow, I really can't believe I have been out here for a whole 6 months! So many of the Elders have told me, "Watch Hma. Winsor, it is going to FLY by." Aw, crap. It is ALREADY flying by! To think I have less than a year now....it kind of worries me. I want to live EVERY moment of my mission and I do NOT want to waste this time, for it is precious. I am grateful for the past 6 months, even if they were RIDICULOUSLY hard. I am grateful for each and every experience I had. I am grateful for my increased/strengthened testimony. I am grateful for the GIFT OF TONGUES that Heavenly Father gave me.....I love the gift of tongues, especially when you are in Mexico. bahaha. ANYWHO, my goal is to live up these next 12 months!

So on Monday, I found out that I DO have Typhoid! Yaaaay. Oh well, I'll be fine! :) Thursday we went "prescription shopping", hahaha. I am not allowed to eat chile, nor drink soda, I am officially not allowed to drink milk (only Soy)...fruits and veggies ONLY. The doctor even told me that I canNOT eat the tortillas for awhile....uhhhh, does he not know that'll be a TAD bit impossible? hahaha. Oh, well...we'll see how this goes. 

Me being a joyful missionary ... with my new prescriptions.

Tuesday we actually ate GOOD food that did NOT give us food poisoning! POR FIN! We ate with the Lopes Yañez Family, so it makes sense....I have NEVER gotten food poisoning after eating with that family. :) Hermana Lopez showed us that she was making yogurt and she showed us the way she was making it.....and it's pretty strange! She fills a bowl with milk and puts these non-moving, non-breathing animals in the milk, called "bulgados". And they ferment the milk, making it more thick! She brought a bowl in to show us and they literally look like pieces of sponge put into a bowl of milk. hahaha! But it was pretty awesome :)

Also, every last Tuesday of each month we have a district meeting in ENGLISH! (I hear angeles cantando!) And like before, how I was the ONLY American in my district. Now there is only Elder Velazco whose native tongue is Spanish and Hermana Ferrar (from Puerto Rico) but she speaks Ingles. It was weird hearing English even though I hear it from my companion allllll the time. I am very grateful for my district! I love them all so much, we all get along so well and no one is left out :)

​

Yo and all of my medications throughout 6 months being on the mission...bahaha, how pathetic.

"Let us welcome our new drug cartel member, Hermana Winsor." -Hermana Fa'asa

We are making piñatas with Hma Dolores again, Hma Fa'asas first time! And Hermana Dolores told me to help my companion learn...awww....I have officially graduated from being a student to a TEACHER! haha

So Cesar has a baptismal date for MAY 31st and I am going to beg EACH and EVERY person that is reading this....PRAY FOR CESAR! He has been MORE excited than any investigator with a baptismal date...and I do NOT want him to lose that excitement. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, I have been praying and fasting that he'll keep strong!

Hermana Fa'asa and I are still sticking it out strong. She is getting better with her positivity and her patience with everything. She definitely reminds me of, well, ME when I first got here. The culture shock, the language...EVERYTHING. It's hard, but if I could endure...she definitely can too :) On Monday and Thursday, going to farmacias and doctor appointments, I have been really blessed to have a companion that sticks it out with me and who always supports me. I know we are seeing MORE success in our area because her and I have not only become companions....we've become friends! (That was SUPER cheesy....but it's true. hahaha) I really struggled before and was depressed....and then Heavenly Father sent Hermana Fa'asa to give me hope! :)

On Friday, I woke up with a cold... yes, influenza one day...typhoid the next and then a cold! hahaha. The weather changes REALLY quickly here, for almost the whole day it could be SUPER humid and SUPER SUPER hot and then it's the evening time and it is cold outside. It's so confusing, MEXICO MAKE UP YOUR MIND! hahaha. 

Hermana Mari is doing really well, we visited her on Tuesday and I asked her, "Okay Hma. Mari, it has officially been a week since LAST Tuesday, how many times did you smoke?" And she looked at us, "2 veces..." I have learned that when someone does something you DON'T want them to do, you do NOT get angry with them and say, "Why can't you just do THIS...why can't you just do THAT?" No. If you do that, you are a fool. hahaha.  No, I congratulated her and then we made a goal for her that she will not smoke AT ALL this week.. tomorrow, we will see! She even walked to church by herself yesterday, my heart rejoiced seeing her walk into Sacrament meeting :)

Well, this week was a lot better even if I was sick practically every day again. But that's okay! My body is just working :) haha. I love you, family. Thank you for being such a blessing in my life! Please stay safe and take care of yourselves. Mom and Dad, I have been praying that the move is going well! I hope you are feeling my prayers, because I pray for each and every one of you SPECIFICALLY! :) Les amo mucho y cuidanse MUCHO MUCHO. Recuerde, su Padre Celestial les ama mucho y les conoce. Nunca olvidalo! :)

Adios y Dios les bendiga! 

Con amor, (y tifoidea ...)

Hermana Winsor
​

We played soccer for P-day with our zone....and it was boring :( The Elders are BALL HOGS! hahaha. It's okay, I forgive them. THIS TIME. haha.

Hermana Ferrar (de Puerto Rico) and I waiting on the side lines with our team to switch out. :)

​In Mexico, to promote a circus that would be coming to your town....they drive around with speakers and ANIMALS IN THE BACK OF THE TRUCKS! The cage the lion was in, was like a cage you'd put your dog in....it was NOTHING! But it was SO awesome! I got so close to a REAL lion!

​I am telling you....I was REALLLLY close! :)

Proud member of the "I Had Influenza Club," now may be joining the "I Had Typhoid Club"

April 28, 2014

To start this letter correctly...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG BROTHER!!!!!!!!!!! I love you Danny!!!!!! I hope you are partying up with Mel! :) haha. Oh and I saw the picture of you in MY LEOPARD TIGHTS. And after reading Mel's letter of your leg and butt hairs poking through, I beg of you....please burn those tights.BURN THEM. hahaha :) LOVE YOU!

And I received these beautiful things which made me crack up super hard...and they made everyone else question "If Hermana Winsor really is Mormon..."

Bahahaha I laughed SO hard as one of my zone leaders brought me these packages with such CONFUSION on his face. Everything was in there, unharmed and untouched :) Thank you for your support Mom, Dad, Melanie and Danny! Thank you for the pictures and letters AND FOOD! :)

And thank you mom for sending me the dress & my favorite shirt & MY IPOD! I kid you not, I cried when I started playing it...I literally have missed music SO much :) I LOVE YOU ALL!! :) Melanie thank you SO much for sending so many pictures!!! :)

So I will most likely get my first baptism THIS SUNDAY! Lemme explain- there is a member who lost every single bit of her membership papers...so there is no evidence that she was baptized, only like 4 pictures of her baptism. (she was baptized in 2010) So the secretary asked US to visit her and set up a baptismal date. We visited her this week and she is being baptized May 4th. So technically right now, she's not even a member! Yeah yeah yeah "BUT AUBRI...." I KNOW. But it's a baptism. *positive mind positive mind*

We visited the Garcia Family this week and some of the grandchildren were over that lived in Zacatecas. One of them is named "Alexis" and HE is 7 years old. And oh. my. heavens. I have never met such a smart 7 year old in my LIFE! We started off the lesson asking Hermano Garcia who he'd like to say the opening prayer and he points to Alexis with a HUGE smile... and wow, I have NEVER heard such an intense prayer, "Father in heaven I am SO happy to be alive today. Because Father there are A LOT of wars going on and bad stuff happening....but I will NEVER stop believeing in you. I will always believe in you because I know you are ALWAYS there..." It went along those lines, and sat there listening to the prayer with my jaw dropped. The Spirit was SO strong and I really am starting to have to evaluate my own prayers.... because Alexis, I feel like, was REALLY talking to his Heavenly Father.

We had an awesome experience with Martin after 2 weeks without seeing him. Hermana Fa'asa and I headed over, and they received us! His mom, his sister Karen and he were there. We taught about prayer because we really want him to know the importance of not just talking TO our Heavenly Father but talking WITH his Father. We asked to hear if they had any experiences with prayer and Martin started to laugh, and he told us THIS...

"The 2 weeks that I hadn't seen you and Hermana Moreno...I felt as if something was missing. Every Sunday that I didn't go to church...I felt as if something was missing. I wasn't happy for the full 2 weeks. I knew I didn't have the Spirit with me. And about 30 minutes before you came, I prayed, begging my Father in Heaven to send the sister missionaries to my door. And in 15 minutes, you knocked on my door! I can't describe what type of joy I feel right now...I feel like I have an answer of what I should do. I can't go to church THIS Sunday but the next Sunday, I promise you I am going."

MY JAW DROPPED. How obvious can an answer from our Heavenly Father BE?! hahaha! After praying to MY Father in Heaven to touch Martin's heart, it has happened! And I sense a baptism in the NEAR NEAR future! :)

This week has had it´s ups and A LOT of downs. Hermana Fa'asa is adjusting and has been sick after every single meal...and so have I... so we worked very little this week. We put a lot of baptismal dates and we have many in the future and when we were working, we contacted A LOT .... but we have been pretty beat up. One of our Zone Leaders, Elder Boyce, asked me this week what are my symptoms because it's the same thing every time I am sick. I told him and he told me that everything I have, he had before he was diagnosed with TYPHOID. Yep. Typhoid.

I learned that Typhoid can also come in the form of bacteria and there is not a vaccine for it, it is just something you have to live with until it goes away. Elder Boyce has had it for about a year...and he strongly encouraged me to call the medic. I talked to Elder Boyce yesterday because I (I am going to be honest) was SUPER SUPER sick yesterday. Kidney pain, diahera, vomiting, stomach pain, random exhaustion.... the whole 9 yards. And today I have an appointment with the medic at 3pm to get some studies done to see if I really do have Typhoid. Influenze, kidney infection...why not Typhoid next? :) hahaha. I am going to start making tshirts or something....

 

Who has 2 thumbs and has hit their 6 MONTH MARK? THIS HERMANA! :)

Well, I have officially hit 6 months on my mission...27 of April makes it one more year till I will be heading back to AZ. It's weird thinking how fast time flies when you are on a mission. Beginning my mission thinking, "Why did I EVER want to do this?! Am I insane?!?!" now thinking, "I can't imagine my life without my mission." Yeah, it's still hard. I still get home sickness......but I don't know where I would be without my mission. This is the best decision I have ever made. I am so happy that I was and am worthy enough to be serving my brothers and sisters here in Mexico. We were walking to an appointment and I thought what my life would be like after my mission...and I seriously can't imagine. It feels like home here, which is weird to say.

But I have gotten so used to the fact that, hey, life is going to be hard....but it is THROUGH you. You can make it even more hard by your attitude....or you can go, "Hm. Well, that was rough but TOMORROW is a NEW day!" For the past 6 months I have fought to find the positive in EVERYTHING.

I even have done what Dad had always said to me when I was super negative, "Aubri, the sun is SHINING. The earth is turning on its axis. You are breathing. You have 2 arms and 2 legs. You are healthy." I have heard that SO many times coming out of Dads mouth....but now I know why.

We have SO many reasons to be positive. This world is full of positivity, but we CHOOSE to point out the negative. We see the negative because we choose to see it. I have fought to see the positive and to be blind to the negative. Yeah, I might find out today that I have Typhoid....but I don't have cancer, it doesn't mean I am going home early, I don't have any broken limbs... It could be worse and I could give up (like I almost did when I had Influenza), but really, it's the cards I have been dealt with. And I am happy to be a missionary, I am happy the Sun is SHINING and the Earth is spinning on it's axis. I am happy I was given the blessing of serving my mission in Mexico. I am happy that I KNOW the Church is true. I am happy that I have such a wonderful family who loves me and supports me. I am happy that I am a daughter, sister and aunt of the Winsor Family. I am happy, I am overjoyed. I will remain that way til the day I die! I will be positive. :) And I will keep smiling! :)

I love you Family and Friends. Thank you for your undying support and love for me. Thank you for your cards & packages. My heart always leaps for joy when I see and card and/or package for me. I pray for each and every one of you EACH moment I have the opportunity to pray. You are always in my heart and I love you all! :) 

Keep praying for my companion, pray that her body will adjust quickly and that she will feel like she NEEDS to be here. I love her and I am blessed to be her companion and trainer :)

OH and TOMORROW IS HERMANA CALDERON'S BIRTHDAY! Email her!!!leah.calderon@myldsmail.net <----email :="" haha="" her="" o:p="">

Les amo mucho y cuidase mucho por favor. Dios les bendiga :) 

Con Amor,

Hermana Winsor

P.S. OH! May 11th I will be talking to [mom and family] for MOTHERS DAY! The plan is to start 4pm (Mexico time) and I think Arizona is 2 hours behind...so it should be about 2pm for ya'll---- if anything changes I will let you know! :)

Conferencia de Zona con el Presidente y su Esposa! 

Hermana Romero (lider capacitadora), yo, Hermana Fa'asa, Hermana Azuara (lider capacitadora), Hermana Villarreal, Hermana Bingham, Hermana Ferrar, Hermana Eliason, Hermana Ortiz, Hermana Flores, Hermana Tepox

Happy church day!

Hermana Fa'asa bought glasses to protect her eyes from the wind too :) Naturally, we took pictures.

We made TARTAS with Hermana Aydé (Araceli´s daughter) Seriously when I am getting back, I will teach you how to make them THEY ARE SO GOOD!

Homemade....and oh so delicioso.