Make it Rain!

It rained like CRAZY this week. Apparently in Mexico, June-September are the months of pure, beautiful RAIN!!! :) You'd think by now, I would have rainboots.....nah, hahaha!

Well, anywho :)

This week I unfortunately was pretty sick every day, but I lived! Here I am, still serving a mission :)

Rainy time in MEXICO!!!! :) Hermana Hernandez gave
 Hna Fa'asa and I PONCHOS after we ate with her family :)
 (this is in our backyard)

Monday, after I emailed ya'll, Hna Fa'asa & I went to eat pizza at DOMINOS (yay, American food - kind of). We order half Hawaiian and half cheese...and the cheese tasted funky, like powder. It was pretty gross. We returned back to the house and I went to bed early because I was starting to have the "normal" stomach problems. Tuesday at 2:45am, definitely woke up with food poisoning...yaaaay. I slept until 9am and woke up to Hna Fa'asa watching movies that she found on her USB drive, all in Samoan! I watched them with her and, of course, understood nothing, hahaha! I slept for another hour and then woke up to go to District meeting at 11:30am. We walked and arrived at the chapel at 12pm, I was still feelin' pretty sick and discouraged, I honestly HATE being sick...every time I am sick I think, "Why am I sick ALL the time on my mission!? Heavenly Father, don't you want me to serve?!" And during the district meeting, Elder Ouderkirk shared this scripture with us (D&C 39:11-13):

11  I have prepared thee for a GREAT work... thou shalt preach the fullness of my gospel... I have sent forth to recover my people.

12  And it shall come to pass that POWER shall rest upon thee; thou shalt have GREAT faith, and I will be with thee and go before thy face.

13  THOU ART CALLED TO LABOR IN MY VINEYARD, and to build up my church, and to bring forth Zion, that it may rejoice upon the hills and flourish.

Happy companionship study, Hna Fa'asa
definitely wanted to take pictures.

I definitely needed this scripture, with being sick this week and not teaching many days in a row because my body doesn't know how to behave with stinking Typhoid....it takes a toll on you mentally! You feel like you failed and you feel ashamed to turn in your numbers. BUT, I need to recognize that I have been called to the work, I have been set apart with a great power. Shoot, the POWER OF GOD, hahaha. I am not failing; being sick is just a trial of my faith. Typhoid, kidney infections....BRING IT ON! I am going to keep on serving :) He knows I can do it, that is why he called ME!

Found my piñata boyfriend again when
we were at Hna Dolores' house :)

Wednesday: A pretty normal day! We went over to Hna Dolores' house and helped her with piñatas :) Then later that day, we went over to eat ice cream and teach Jaqueline about the Holy Ghost & the Book of Mormon. We read Moroni 10:3-5 with her...and well, she didn't like it too much. "So if through this book I can receive whatever I want to know, will it tell me why I can't find a man to marry?" I looked at her, "It won't tell you what is wrong with you, it will tell you what to do to FIND the one." I tried sharing an experience about how I am sick all the time but every time I studied the Book of Mormon when I was sick, I found comfort and motivation, and ALL the answers to my doubts.

THEN SHE INTERUPPTS ME (mistake #1), "Wait, you want me to praise a book?" Uh, no. Stop interrupting me, hahaha. I explain to her that these words in the Book of Mormon are the words of God because they are from prophets, and he KNEW I would have Typhoid & I would be sick.

"Wait, you are here...with Typhoid, very far away from your family.....are you insane?" (mistake #2) I look at her, "It doesn't matter, Jaqueline, I have a strong testimony that I need to be here. And this book helped me and it keeps helping me, it's…" "No, You need to go home. Do you WANT to be here or do you HAVE to be here?" "Jaqueline, I want to be here. I have been called to be here, so I have to be here. This is MY choice." "YOU HAVE MADE THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF YOUR LIFE, BEING HERE." (mistake #3)

We left. A customer came in, so she went to go serve them … aaaaand we left. I really couldn't take it anymore, it was rough. We went to a store and Hna Fa'asa bought me a Snickers to cool me down, even though I felt like I hid it really well, haha. We went back home because SURPRISE I started feeling sick again. I took a shower and I asked Hna Fa'asa to trim my hair because it was SUPER unhealthy. And she did a GREAT job! :)

The shoe tan is getting WORSE!

Thursday: There was NO ONE HOME! Literally. haha.

Friday: I woke up SICK and discouraged with absolutely NO desire to work. I started personal study with a question, "Heavenly Father, what is my purpose here in my area?" And I open the Book of Mormon just to start reading and I see this scripture in Mosiah, "for behold, I am come to declare unto you the glad tidings of GREAT joy. For the Lord hath heard thy prayers, and hath judged of thy righteousness, & hath sent me to declare unto thee that thou mayest REJOICE; and that thou mayest declare unto thy people, that they may also be filled with JOY."

MY NEW NIECE!!!!!! Man, 10 more months
 till I get to HOLD YOU!

If that isn't an answer, I don't know what it is! :) I am here to find JOY in declaring JOY unto the people of Fresnillo. I have NO reason to be disappointed when I am a representative of Jesus Christ. He wants me to rejoice :) Heck, am I not only a representative of Jesus Christ, I have a NEW NIECE! :) I definitely cried seeing the pictures of my beautiful niece, Vivian :) I can't wait to hold her in April :)

Carlos came to Church! WOO HOO! Baptism bells are STILL ringing!!! 5 de Julio, keep praying!!!! I am soooo stoked! :) He is doing great and will do anything to be baptized!

Well, I hope all of you are doing great! Keep taking care of yourselves and stay strong! I am doing okay, I am still moving forward :) I know Heavenly Father helped me A LOT this week through scriptures and keepin' me alive :) Love you all, read your scriptures and keep on prayin'. It's crazy to think that THIS Monday is my 8 month mark, which means in one month till my halfway mark :) We better not blink or I'll be home! haha. LES AMO! y Dios les bendiga :)

Con Amor,

Hermana Winsor

Sunburns, Hills, Miracles, Baptism Dates, Father's Day and PUPPIES!

We ate with Hna Veronica on Friday and one of the MANY dogs in the house had puppies...I definitely turned age 5 and played with all of them.

  

Oh and another random note, the Soccer World Cup is going on...and that is the worst temptation EVER! I want to watch it SO bad! 

ANYWHO, Carlos and his son Carlos Jr (in English, his name is Carl Jr...bahahaha) will be baptized 5th of July. And we taught about the Restoration and the Word of Wisdom with him. And of course, like everyone in Mexico, Carlos drinks coffee. But when we taught him, he looked at us, "If all I need to do is give up coffee to be baptized, I will do it!" It was a miracle! Last Sunday, Carlos came with his son Carlos Jr, his daughter Monse (7 yrs old) and his nephew Angel (8 years old) to church!!! He loves church! FINALLY AN INVESTIGATOR WHO LOVES CHURCH! haha. The members are wanting to help us and have been doing pretty well with making him feel welcome.

Hna Fa'asa and I also spoke in church about activation and retention. It went really well! I also played the piano for Sacrament meeting, love playing! :) In Relief Society, we talked about el sacerdocio (priesthood) and it was on Father's Day, so of course I was feelin' homesick...but it definitely made my testimony of the awesomeness of the priesthood grow :)

Happy Birthday on the 21st to Brittany and Alex!!!!!!! LOVE YOU BOTH! 

Tuesday and Wednesday I went to Zacatecas for intercambos (24 hours) with Hermana Morales. Zacatecas is PURE hills, and they are not ordinary hills...they are STEEP San Francisco hills. I got a hard-core leg and thigh workout.

This is in Zacatecas, which is LITERALLY fulls of steep steep hills. I was on intercambios, and the other sister's house is at the bottom of all the steep hills in all of Zacatecas. And all of their investigators live on TOP of the hills. They start of their day climbing up this HUGE steep steep hill. Let's just say, I got some major leg work out.

And this is what I mean, this is outside of one of the many investigator's houses on top of one of the MANY hills in Zacatecas. You climb up to an investigator's house, then you walk down a hill and then back up a hill to another house...... what missionaries do... hahaha.

I mean do you see these pictures?!?! It is mountains and hills. But, we did have an awesome experience with an 11 year old investigator named Luis, who lives in extreme EXTREME poverty. Dirt floors, no windows, 14 family members living in a 2 bedroom "home." I have humbling experiences like that every day here. The mother of Luis took him out of school when he was in 2nd grade, and he has no idea how to read. So Hermana Morales and I helped him learn his vowels, and WOW. He showed us true dedication and a true desire to learn...it was amazing being with him! We then gave him a Book of Mormon and I read Moroni 10:3-5 to him, I started to cry. It is an amazing promise not only from Moroni, but from our Heavenly Father. It was a tender promise to His son, Luis:

3) Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

4) And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5) And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

I mean, this is a direct promise to Luis. Through his faith and his desire to learn, he WILL learn how to read and spell through the Book of Mormon. It was amazing meeting him and the strength my testimony received through him. 

After returning from Intercambios in Zacatecas, exhausted, incredibly sunburned and feelin' awesome :) This is Hermana Morales from Sonora, Mexico!

Intercambios with Hna Morales was awesome and I truly learned a lot. She definitely helped me on how I can be a better trainer and help Hna Fa'asa. It was awesome and I have some pretty beefy calf muscles now :) haha

Riding our first camion (bus) ride around Fresnillo!!

Thursday, we visited Carlos with el líder misional, Hno Avila. We put a baptismal date with Carlos and his son, it was amazing :) He basically told us he had been waiting for us to ask him, haha! After 7 months of doing ALL I could, Heavenly Father has led us to Carlos who WANTS to be baptized and will do ANYTHING to follow the example of his Savior. These last 7 months were definitely a trial of patience, positivity and faith, and LOOK! After so many prayers, 5th of July will be a wonderful day! :) Thank you for your prayers and for never giving up on me :)

We also had a Father's Day Activity on Thursday right after we taught Carlos and he came! It was SUPER fun and Carlos even won something! (We had to leave early, because obedience and stuff.) But it is awesome how much desire he is showing to be a part of the true church!

It was a pretty good week, we taught more than 30 lessons and we received more than 20 references! The work is a-growing! The Gospel is amazing and, like, SUPER true :) haha. Les amo mucho y gracias por todo que hacen. Por favor, cuídense mucho. Su Padre Celestial les ama mucho y les conoce. Son hijos de un REY, ¡que genial! no? jaja. Lean sus escrituras, son armas contra Satanás. Oran SIEMPRE! La oración es protección, se que es la verdad. 

Les amo mucho :) Nos vemos y hasta la proxima semana! :)

Con Amor,

Hermana Winsor

PS: Recuerdan, VENGA LO QUE VENGA...DISFRÚTALO!  :)

  

When I went to Zacatecas for exchanges (intercambios) I saw a Arizona License plate!!!!! :)

Found the 2nd Arizona license plate in one week!! :)

When I arrived in Zacatecas for intercambios, Hna Morales showed me Lychee fruit, and they are SO expensive here and they are freakishly weird looking. On the left, that's what they look like before, like an acorn. Then you peel off the shell and you end up with what is on the right, it's a texture of a fish egg....
SUPER weird.

Went on exchanges for 24 hours in Zacatecas, put a bunch of sunscreen on...but missed a spot and ended up getting a LEGIT 2nd degree burn on my shoulder...yaaaayy.

NO. MORE. FUN.

I am going to start off with this picture!

On Tuesday we went to Bodega to buy groceries and we bought a pretty normal size of groceries. We go in line (and there are only 3 cashiers open, no bags and no baggers)....and it takes forever! Then these two ladies were behind us and start chatting with us. The girl on the right, Karla, asked us where we were from. After we told her, she said she lived and had 2 kids in not only Arizona, but in MESA!!!! I almost cried I was so happy to talk to her. She got deported 2 years ago but her kids stayed and this week she went to Mesa to see her kids for the FIRST time in 2 years! She is SUPER awesome!

As we paid for our food and tried finding some way to gather our food and 2 HUGE jugs of water. We find a box, put the box in the cart and put the food in and Karla asks us, "Do you live far? Because I can drive you to your house!" I swear I heard angels sing. We go to her car (which had a ARIZONA LICENSE PLATE! hollah) and as soon as she opens the back of her van, Hna Fa'asa and I lift our box a little bit, and the bottom of the box GIVES. OUT. The food goes EVERYWHERE into the cart...and Karla magically pulls out another box from her car "Here! Put your food in here!" Once again I heard angels sing!

She drove us to our house, helped us carry everything in and gave us her address, number and email so we could contact her if we needed a ride anywhere...I know she is going to receive SO many blessings!!! Please ask Heavenly Father that her and her family can reunite and that she can receive SO many blessings!!

On Wednesday, there. was. no. one. home. Seriously!!! And this week I SWEAR it was more than 90 degrees every single day! We taught ONE lesson, it was rough, but we moved forward. We ate with the Lopez Yanez family, whose son we helped go on a mission, Luis Abraham. They told us that Luis Abraham had his FIRST baptism! How awesome is THAT?!

On Friday we had a zone conference and, wow...uh, I am going to be completely honest... it was super boring. haha! I tried! And TRIED to listen and to have the Spirit testify to me about how I can be a better missionary. But the thing is, the zone leaders just lectured about EVERYTHING that Elder De Hoyos talked about...I really did try!! But I ended up taking a little notes and just doodling the rest of the time. I know, I know...I will go repent.

​We FINALLY received the conference talks!!!!!!! WOO HOO!!

And THEN the Zone Leaders decide to give us this announcement, "There is a new rule, we are not allowed to have ANY more Zone Activities and District Activities." We ALL freaked out! We all asked the Zone Leaders "Why?!" and they never told us why :( So SOMEONE really messed up. After the announcement they ask me to say the closing prayer...it was a little impossible, but I endured. I basically took the announcement like, "Hey missionaries, we can't have fun anymore." I panicked a bit, I mean, yeah, the Gospel is fun, but it is stressful and when we play soccer or we have activities, it is stress-relieving! We'll see what happens. But HEY - on the GOOD side after 2 weeks not having agendas, we finally have agendas now and we have the conference talks,WOOHOO!

On Thursday it was SO freakishly hot outside, so I not only got MORE tan, but freakishly burnt as well. haha! It was also Hna Fa'asa's 3 month mark so I decorated her desk while she was in the shower :) I know, I am smooth :)

During personal study I was feeling, well, pretty discouraged, and I read in Preach My Gospel "What is a successful missionary?" And I learned that a successful missionary is one who does their best with FAITH, not worrying & not becoming disappointed when disappointing times come. So, I concluded, "I have been trying my best EVERY DAY for 7 months straight, I am guessing that I am a successful missionary?" haha. 

We then went to eat with the family Garcia, but they barely started making the food so we ate around 3pm...and we were going to go to Zapata. It was SO hot that day, I was sure we were going to die because, in Zapata, there is NO shade, only pure sun. So we stayed near but once again NOT ONE person was home! We went everywhere – north, south, east, west. I felt like Frodo when he traveled to Mount Mordor, it was THAT hot.

Normal thug life picture.

We ended up teaching Jaqueline after eating ice cream to cool down. We taught her Lesson 1 and we talked about the Book of Mormon, and gave her homework to read the Introduction of the Book of Mormon. She had trouble accepting it, and the Restoration. We asked her to pray but she was SUPER hesitant to pray. Why is everyone so hesitant to pray? HEAVENLY FATHER WANTS TO HEAR YOUR PRAYERS. Gosh.

She was willing to keep reading and she wants to keep listening, and she always welcomes us. I just pray she'll read so that she can look for an answer. She started off our lesson by pointing out all the bad "incorrect" things of the Book of Mormon - it definitely tested my patience, but once again...I endured.

On Friday, we went to PLATEROS! :) Plateros (a tiny town) is in our area, but it is 15 minutes away BY CAR. So if I do my math correctly, it would take 34 days just walking there. haha. We went with Hno and Hna Lopez Yanez to find some investigators from the previous missionaries.

As we FINALLY arrived, we looked and looked for a direction and we saw 3 guys talking outside the house. We pulled over and asked about the direction and one of them, se llama Mario, told us and even walked to the house with us! And of course, we contacted him and we have an appointment with him this Thursday!

We found the investigator who answered his door saying, " Finally you have come! I have been waiting for you!" We taught him and he has gone to church more than 6 times and he came this Sunday to church and WANTS TO KEEP COMING! We will see him THIS Thursday to set a baptismal date for July 5th! He is a true golden investigator! WOO HOO!!!!  Se llama Carlos! And the ward did GREAT on Sunday by helping him feel welcome!

On Saturday we went to a baptism of the other sister missionaries of our district and it was powerful. The dad (who was once a member of the mofia, and has been returning to church for about a year) baptized his 14 year old son, and the way he immersed his son in the water brought tears to EVERYONE'S eyes. To see them both change for the better, heck, a week before the son's baptism the son was beat up! And the amazing thing, the son never complained! He FORGAVE the people who beat him up.... it was a truly amazing experience!

Oh by the way, Hna Fa'asa and I are speaking in Church on Father's Day! 1. Christmas 2. Mother's Day, and now....3. Father's Day. I see a pattern!

Well, this week was good! Just another week on the mission :) Keep praying for me! And PLEASE pray that this baptism for Carlos will stay strong!

I found a talk by Elder Holland and he said,

"The REAL you is more precious than rubies."

We can't be fake and we should never be ashamed of who we are as individuals. Our Heavenly Father loves us and made us specifically with certain talents! I am so happy that I am ME, a member of the TRUE church and a representative of Jesus Christ.

I am happy and I love this mission. I don't like thinking about the end of my mission because it is like I just got here yesterday. The time FLIES when you are doing what you are supposed to be doing. I love this work! And les amo TODOS! Dios les bendiga :) Adios :)

Con Amor,

 Hermana Winsor

PS. Mom, I have not received your package QUITE yet...I am sure it will come soon :)

​Weird looking flowers that we found walking to an appointment!

 

WE FOUND CHURROS!!!!

7 Months in the mission - 11 more to go, ORALE!

What up, what up, what up?! :) Ok. I am done being ghetto. This week was A LOT better :) 

On Tuesday, we had a district meeting EN INGLES! It was great, like always :)

  

Best. District. Ever.

My District: Can you guess which one is the  District Leader? YEA JUST GUESS!

On Thursday, Hma. Fa'asa and I woke up at 3:45am to go to the central de los autobuses to travel to Zacatecas with our Zone. We had a multi-zone conference with Elder De Ollos FROM THE SEVENTY! We started off leaving our house when it is SUPER dark outside and it is sprinkling a little bit, just to go look for a taxi. As soon as we walk down the most lit up street, it begins to POUR! So we run to a Waldo's to stay under an overhang to stay dry and we wait for a taxi.... and we wait and we wait AND WE WAIT.

Now I start to get worried because we have to be in the central at 5:30 but it is now 5:20am...... and as soon as I call the district leader, one taxi pulls up! I heard angels sing! haha. YEP. ANGELS.

We got in, went to the central and went to Zacatecas. Two days before I was told that I would be playing the piano, but they told me only one hymn, “Choose the Right.” We go to Zacatecas and as soon as the conference starts, we sing, “We Are All Enlisted,” THE ONE HYMN I DON'T KNOW. I manage through and the conference begins - IT WAS AMAZING! Something about being in the same room as someone from the Seventy just GETS to you! Some of the things I learned:

--When sharing your testimony of the Restoration, SMILE. The gospel is a HAPPY thing to talk about!

--Don't waste time!

--"You are not the light. Who is? Jesus Christ. You do not convert people, the Holy Ghost does."

--In order to maintain the language AFTER the mission, pray in the language.

--When the members work with the missionaries, there will be 150% SUCCESS.

--FOCUS.

These are only some of the things I learned. I truly loved EVERY moment, and I saw Elder Rios (my last district leader) at the conference - miss that Elder! We then sang a break hymn, “Hark All Ye Nations,”  …still not “Choose The Right.”

Then we continue with a Q&A session and finish up with another hymn that I have NEVER heard before and had to completely sight read. So, what happened to “Choose The Right? QUIEN SABE, hahaha!

We went to the central in Zacatecas to return to Fresnillo and our district went to a nearby gas station-lookin' store and Elder Ouderkirk FOUND ROOT BEER!  It was heavenly :) We then returned back to Fresnillo EXHUASTED.

 

After long day that started at 3:45AM to spend the day with Elder De Ollos of the Seventy, we were pretty exhausted...
but we looked pretty :)

We taught Hma. Mari and she told us her goal is to go completely cold turkey, she started Sunday! So please pray that she'll have strength to resist! We received 2 new investigators who are SUPER SUPER Christian and talk A LOT but are SUPER nice :) Se llaman Jose Manuel y Mariasabel. We ate with them on Saturday and we tried teaching them afterwards about the Restoration buuuut yeah....we ended up being taught because Jose Manuel talked 3 hours straight showing us scriptures in the bible. Yeah, I was mentally exhausted afterward and kinda’ had to say, "HEY, you are talking and we have work to do.... ba-bye." But don't worry, I said it with love :)

We found a new investigator se llama Jaqueline (pronounced, YA KA LIN). She works at a family-owned ice cream shop that we ALWAYS go to. We contacted her and taught her why we are here as missionaries, and her response was, "Look, I am more than willing to listen and you are more than willing to eat here, but I will not change religions." We taught her that we are not here to CONVINCE, we are only here to INVITE, just like Christ did. It is only through her and her Heavenly Father, not us. She cried and accepted the Book of Mormon to read. She is very loving and awesome!!!

Funny story: We were buying cards for our district activity and Hma. Fa'asa was reading this toothbrush brand called "Buenos Dias." She read it out loud and some random guy comes up and corrects her, "No, es buenas tardes." And she replies in English, "I was reading!" He goes, "You WAS reading?" I busted up laughing. I looked at her and said, "You should have just replied, “Yes, I WERE reading..." hahahaha. We laughed preeetttyyy hard :)

On Sunday, Hma. Mari came to church! We passed by for William but he never came :( I wonder what happened .... anywho, I played the piano, and had a great Fast Sunday!

It was a really good week and I feel happy! Had many down moments but MANY more UP moments :) I read in D&C 76:22...

"And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of Him, this is the testimony last of all, which we give of him: That He Lives!"

Se que vive mi Señor. Se que Él va a ayudarme con cualquier cosa...y solamente necesito venir a Él. Se que Él es un perfecto ejemplo de la caridad y amor. Yo amo cada persona aqui y cuando yo pienso de "Wow, 11 mas meses..." yo siento triste, El tiempo es bien rapido y quiero disfrutar cada momento aquí! Les amo mucho, cuídense mucho. Lean sus escrituras! Oran! SIEMPRE! 

Les amo y Dios les bendiga!!! :)

Con Amor (y otras cosas como tifoidea y amebas)

Hermana Winsor :) 

 

Hma. Fa'asa decorated my desk to mark my 7 month mark.
I promise my desk is never this disorganized.

Waiting for our last check-up at the hospital, we pulled out our chocolate, looked at each other, and just laughed.
Brown chocolate ... and white chocolate.

Hma. Bingham making brownies for District Activity.

Ice Cream at Jacqueline's shop.

  

District activity: Ice Cream, Brownies, and Games