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