El Sol Sale Para Todos!

Hola mi querida familia! Como estan? Espero que todos esten bien y felices :) Esta semana era muy bien y tuvimos MUCHO calor!!!

Here is one of the days where we practically
burned up in the heat!

I swear the days and weeks go faster and faster. It's crazy to think that THIS Wednesday will be my 9 month mark. WOW!!! I am halfway done with the mission...I have no idea what to think anymore. hahaha!

Ok, the one thing about San Luis Potosi....it is SO HUMID AND HOT! And this week was FULL of walking and walking. There were plenty of times where I sang in my head, "Pioneer children sang as they walked and walked and walked and kept walking and walked some more and then some." ...haha!

TUESDAY: We had an awesome district meeting! We focused on Ch. 6 of Preach My Gospel. I love one the sentences in the beginning: "Just as vital as what you do, however, is WHO YOU ARE." We have the potential to become like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Christ has shown us the way and has set His perfect example for us to follow. If we want to be happy and successful not only our missions but our lives afterwards, we HAVE to follow Him. (3 Nephi 27:27)

We also taught our 9-year old investigator Diego and his younger 8 year old brother Luis in the house of their Aunt (Hna Paty Luna, member). The two boys were going to be baptized on July 26th, but their parents didn't take them to church like they said they would. So we moved their baptism to August 9th...but once again their parents did not take them to church like they said they would. Hna Luna called and called, we called and called...but nooo one answered :( 

We'll see what happens. But when we DID teach them, wow, they are definitely 8 and 9 year old boys, haha! We learned that we needed to separate them because teaching them together was 1098% impossible. Hna Luna went upstairs and it was up to me and my companion to control them. When I was teaching Diego, wow, he is SUPER smart and soaks in everything like a sponge. He did get distracted easily but I thought a lot about you dad in this moment. How would YOU teach these boys? And all that came to my mind was, "Love. Complete love." You truly love every single child in the world, Dad, like Christ did. I kept thinking of what you would do and I did it! I did not lose my patience ONCE in the lesson with them. I left the lesson with my companion and all I could feel was the Spirit so strong in my heart. I felt so much gratitude for your example, Dad. Thank you for teaching me to look at people through Christ's eyes. I truly feel love for Diego and Luis!

WEDNESDAY: I want to talk about some more awesome people: La Familia Espinoza Luna. They were ALL once less actives but they have been active for about a year now (yay!) ...except their 20 yr old son Rogelio who wants NOTHING to do with the church. This family has been through HECK and back. Rogelio was born with 1 kidney and has had health problems from the beginning of time. He was once a wrestler until, well, he received a blow to the one kidney he had annnnd that's when it all started. Because of ALL of this, he has no desire to go to church. 

Hna. Paty Luna (the mom) has diabetes and was once super inactive. Also the husband, Hno Rogelio Espinoza, was SUPER inactive. But you would NEVER EVER know now that they are always going through some sort of trial. They are loving, ABSOLUTELY hilarious and amazing people. Even though the son doesn't want to go to church, he receives us well and listens to our lessons :) They are the number 1 family who supports the work of the Lord the most. When they feed us, they feed ALL 6 of us missionaries. Why? Because they have never gone hungry/poor when they started to feed us. Hna Paty told us, "My son Rogelio would have died or been worse than he is right now, if we didn't feed the missionaries. Feeding and serving all 6 of you is a blessing and an honor." WOW. I seriously love la familia Espinoza Luna! 

Paty Luna, yo, Paty Saldaña...and her husband who is definitely
photobombing us with GREAT happiness....hahaha! Love these members :) 

Paty Luna apparently helped Hermana Calderon a lot when she was in the hospital, so I am forever grateful for her because she took care of my companion :))

VIERNES: I received a new calling! I am officially the ward piano player- I received a calender and EVERYTHING with all the hymns, haha! It did say in my Patriarchal Blessing to always be involved in music, I guess I am fulfilling that part :)

SABADO: The elders (when we were eating) told us a story that happened to them when they tried contacting a reference we gave them. The reference, a woman, answered the door and the elders introduced themselves. She told them that she was busy with something and as soon as she said, "I am going to shower," Elder Olalde, at the same time asked, "CAN WE HELP YOU?" bahahahahaha!!!! Her reply, "Uhhh...I can shower by myself." hahahahaha! He said he was SO embarrassed, but oh my heavens. I almost choked on my food when he told all of us that, it was SO dang funny!

DOMINGO: Pues, Diego AND Maria de Lourdes did not come to church :( I don't know what happened to Diego, but we visited Maria de Lourdes later that day. and she told us that she got called into work 7pm Saturday night and she left work 7am Sunday morning. OUCH. She also told us that she has A LOT of doubts :( but she wants to be baptized! She feels it is right, but to have a specific day? She doesn't feel ready because she hasn't felt a specifc answer. We taught her about prayer and the time of the Lord, we invited her to pray for a baptismal date that she could prepare for. Please continue praying for her!!!! 

But we did have a miracle happen at church, an investigator who lives in our area but has been taking the lessons in a completely different zone came to our ward! Her name is Roxanna and she is 18 years old. She has been investigating the church for about a year, has received ALL the lessons and has gone to church more than 82 times....she is SO ready for baptism! Also this week there is a YSA convention in Zacatecas and she is going! We have an appointment with her not THIS Tuesday, but the next :)

One of the members that accompanied us this week shared one of her favorite quotes: "El Sol Sale Para Todos." (Pres. Uchtdorf) "The sun rises for everyone." I don't know why but I could NOT stop thinking about this phrase this week!! I think it has become one of my favorite quotes. No one is exempt from trials, tribulation and heartache. And for sure, EVERYONE can experience JOY, laughter, and pure happiness. There is hope and peace in EACH trial, but it is only through Jesus Christ. In each night, there is darkness...but without fail, there is a beautiful sunrise in the end. That is a promise our Heavenly Father gives us. The sun rises for EVERYONE! :)

Keep strong, family! Les amo mucho y les doy gracias por su apoyo y amor. Thank you for supporting me these last 9 months. We are now in SINGLE digits...whoa!  Let's make these last nine months AWESOME! I am SO grateful for all of you!

Les amo y Dios les bendiga para siempre jamas! Nos vemos MUY MUY pronto....en nueve meses :)

Con amor,

Hermana Winsor

PS. The train bruises are going away! YAY!

Language Study.....SO HARD.

Look what I found en Walmart!! Gah, love my area, haha :)

​

Did you know there were TWO "Falls"?

A week full of miracles & hilarious things!

I have to start off with a hilarious thing that happened on Saturday: Everyday we eat with a member, rarely in our area (Joyas 2) and ALWAYS in the area of the elders (Joyas 1)...which is literally on the other side of the WORLD. We have to walk 30 minutes to an hour just to get to the food on time. This specific day we went to visit a less active sister, Raquel, who talks A LOT. Food starts at 2:30, and we left her house at 3pm, entonces, we were only SUPER late. It took about 5 minutes to find a taxi and when the taxi dropped us off, it dropped us off on the other side of a train! "Uh....Hermana Winsor...what are we going to do?" I thought and thought- and then I saw a man walk in front of us and pass in between the train cars. He did it SO easily, I thought, "Psh! I can do the EXACT same thing!" We go and I give Hna Carreto mi cámara, "Saca un foto!"

​After the picture I realized how high I was and tried thinking my plan out, "Ok...one foot here and one foot there and I will be PERFECTLY fine!" Nope. Not only was I incorrect- I was SO incredibly wrong. Not only did I fall...not only did I crash...I crashed and BURNED. It didn't click that 

1. The metal from the train is slippery.

2. The railroad track is GRAVEL, not sturdy ground

3. I should not JUMP off the train car links. 

(After pictures....ignore my awkward face, I was
trying not to laugh during the picture)

I landed literally face first into a bunch of rocks, knocked my elbow on a huge boulder, I tried catching myself but unfortunately placed my hand in a pile of SHARP gravel and I hit my knees first into the railroad track....and then into sharp rocks. If that is not a "crash and burn", I have NO idea what it is! I was, of course, laughing my head off, despite my knees, elbow and my jaw were bleeding....haha! It was a miracle that nothing WORSE happened, especially since I landed face/head first into a bunch of rocks. But I am OKAY! Just pretty beat up :)

Moments right after "The Fall of Hermana Winsor"

 

Swollen knee, that night after "The Fall"

If you tilt the screen a bit, you can see the bruising...
the flash took away the crazy darkness.

We had MANY amazing experiences with Maria de Lourdes! On Wednesday we taught the last part of the Restoration. She had A LOT of questions about prophets and the Apostasy. We taught it a little easier for her to understand- and in the end when we began to testify that this is Christ's church and this is the way and the Book of Mormon is true, etc. She began to cry because she was worried about her family members (Catholics) who have died, what would happen to them because they never had the opportunity to know THE TRUTH. THE TRUTH. Ding ding ding! We knew she knew our message was true! We committed her to read the Book of Mormon and pray...but something told us to wait and not ask her to be baptized quite yet. 

Saturday we visited her and we taught a POWERFUL lesson of Faith. She completely opened up to us and told us of a man (who is married to a different woman, and the husband of Maria is dead) who she has been sleeping with.... she KNOWS this is wrong but she has no idea what to do because the man always returns to her house. She wants to feel peace, she wants to do better things and she wants to be a better person, she wants to take away the guilt...she asked, "What do I NEED TO DO?" 

We taught of the Atonement of Christ and his example. "Hermana Maria, do you feel something when you are with us?" "Yes, peace and tranquility." "Do you feel and believe that our message is true and this is Christ's church?" She looked at me, "Yes. I feel happy and at peace when you come and teach me...how could it not be true?" BOOM. "Seguirá el ejemplo de Jesucristo y será bautizado por alguien que posea el poder y autoridad de dios?" Without a pause and a HUGE smile, "SI" She accepted to be baptized August 23 2014 (Saturday) 

KEEP PRAYING FOR HER! She wasn't able to attend church on Sunday because she was asked to work EXTRA...but she promised us that THIS Sunday and every Sunday before her baptism, she would attend. But PLEASE pray that she will NOT have work on Sunday!!! It was amazing- the Spirit was SO stinkin' strong during the lesson. I love Maria, I am so happy she has so much trust in us! :) I will not let her down! She said the closing prayer and she said, "Please help me know the truth! I want to know, I feel good and I know this is right. Help me feel at peace!" WOW.

We had a zone conference with Pres Villarreal and his wife on Thursday. We talked a lot about Ch. 10 of Preach My Gospel. We learned that our mission is the highest in teaching effectiveness but one of the lowest in baptisms :( We talked A LOT about numbers...and if you know me in the mission, I don't like numbers. I especially don't like comparing ourselves to other missions - our mission just barely hit its 1st year anniversary, so we are SUPER new. We are learning together, but we are NOT failing! 

I learned in the MTC to LOVE the people and to be 150% obedient. I learned to NOT focus in the numbers because they are not going to bring salvation, nor blessings. The PURE love of Christ - charity - will bring our brothers and sisters salvation and never-ending happiness. I have learned in my almost 9 months in the mission, I only feel happy here when I focus on the people, when I truly do EVERYTHING I can do for them. I don't feel happy when I focus in the numbers, on how many lessons we need to teach so that our district leader is not disappointed with us. 

Yes, numbers and goals are super important and they show the desire of our hearts...and if we are working :) But we need to focus the RIGHT way, we can't use numbers so that we can be the "better" mission. That's what we kind of focused on during the conference - numbers and comparing to other regions and areas...and I just felt sad through the WHOLE thing! But I know what I was taught in the MTC is TRUE: the people are more important than numbers. 

Jesus Christ, when he was suffering in Gethsemane, never thought, "Ok, if I suffer for 50% of the population and die for the 50% of the world...I WILL have eternal life." NO, that is absolutely ridiculous! Jesus Christ did it because he loved (and still does) us, and it was the will of God. Well, the last time I checked, I am a representative of Him, should I do as He did and LOVE the people? That sounds a lot better than numbers.

Oh! Mom and Dad! Remember the Brazilian Restaurant you went to where they gave you pieces of meat without end? They have the SAME thing here and the Pres and his wife took half of our zone to the restaurant, and I have to agree, it's pretty awesome :)

I also received 2 cards- one from Madison Seaman and one from Danny and Melanie! :) THANK YOU! I will send you cards NEXT Monday :)

NOTE: No more packages with Catholic pictures. President told us that if there are more packages with Catholic pictures, he will send the packages right back. :( Only tape pictures of OUR church on the packages :)

​LOOK  WHAT I FOUND!!!!!!!!! After emailing last week, we went to a gas station to get some snacks before FHE with Hna Acosta. I grabbed some yogurt and when I went to go pay, I looked down...and I heard angels sing as I read, "Reese's" on beautiful, glistening orange wrappers. I bought about 6 of them - don't judge me! I haven't eaten my favorite candy (aka TRUE happiness) in more than 6 months! That is WAY too much time :) Like I said last week, San Luis Potosi- where dreams TRULY come true :)

Reasons #29,378 why Barrio Joyas is an AWESOME ward: We had a Ward Missionary Training and people actually showed up AND participated! I seriously love this ward SO much. I am surrounded by people who support the work of the Lord :)

We contacted an ancient investigator, Gloria. She came out telling us she appreciated what we do but she was totally fine with worshipping (and I quote) her "idols". IDOLS?! Actual idols?! People still do that today? I thought it was a joke until I walked into her house after asking to use her bathroom and WOW. Every corner of her house was COVERED in idols: 1. Catholic Saints 2. Maria Guadalupe and 3. WHO knows what else. I am SO grateful for my knowledge of Heavenly Father, and that he is the ONLY one. I am happy for the TRUE Gospel in my life!! 

There are many times when a RM [Returned Missionary] goes inactive after the mission, and I have NO idea why. After dedicating such a large part of their lives to the Lord, and witnessing miracles, they return home and go inactive! WHAT?! How could you deny and fall away from not only the Lord, but from your testimony? Yes, it is a different spirit when you return, but doesn't mean it's over! You keep going, you keep moving forward and you KEEP STRONG AND ENDURE!

"Behold, we count them HAPPY which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job; and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy." (Job 5:11)

Want to be happy after the mission? Endure & Enjoy The Journey, because giving up is the WORST you can do!

I love you family! Next week is my 9 month mark! WHOA! I will be home soon so take care of yourselves. Keep strong and "COME WHAT MAY AND LOVE IT!" :)

Les amo MUCHO y Dios Les Bendiga!!!

Con Amor,

Hermana Winsor

HOMEWORK: Read Mosiah 11-17 and LEARN FROM ABINADI! Write me what you learned :)

This is the process of Elder Olalde (from Veracruz) , eating a handful of "Chamoy"
....sweet chile that you put on cucumbers, mangos, etc. I dared him to :)

Poor kid.....but I am sorry, I was laughing way too hard!

 

Glorious MENUDO!!!!  we ate COW STOMACH :)

San Luis Potosi: Where Dreams Come True

Saying goodbye to Hma Fa'asa

Oh, my bags are packed, I'm ready to go ... to San Luis Potosi!!!

This is my new companion, Hermana Carreto de Pueblo, Mexico.
She has been out in the mission field for 6 months. Love her!

I LOVE MY NEW AREA! I went from the worst/hardest area in the mission, to the "golden area". Hermana Carreto also was in Zacatecas, so she knows! haha. San Luis Potosi is a VERY large city that definitely reminds me of California - perfect weather, HUGE beautiful rich houses, mountains in the background...I absolutely love it here...even though our area is gigantic, I love it :) 

With the hermanas de Joyas 3 in my district,

 who eat with us everyday: Hma Albornoz (Argentina), 

Hma Vera (Mexico City), Hma Carreto (Puebla) y yo!

My new ward is split up into 4 parts: Joyas 1, Joyas 2 (my part), Joyas 3, Joyas 4 (really named "Via de Reyes", small branch about an hour away). We all meet up together Sundays. There are some days where we (all 8 missionaries) eat ALL together. The other days it is me and my companion, and the other two hermanas. Imagine, Mom...feeding 8 mouths, and 4 are mouths of ELDERS! haha.

The chapel is huge, beautiful and CLEAN! and the members are EVEN BETTER ! The bishop visits the less actives and our invesitgators! EVERYONE wants to help us! WHAT A BLESSING!

I met some awesome people this week:

This bird, named Richard, does some awesome catcalls.

1. Hermana Paty Saldaña: 

(Member) She fed us and asked about our investigators and how could she help us. She also has more than 7 types of parakeets and parrots in her house. And more than half of them can talk! She went up to one (named "feo"...."ugly". It was an accurate named, for the bird was truly ugly..haha) and she said, "Cállate tu boca, Feo!" and Feo said right back, "Cállate TU boca!" bahahaha. We were ALL dying laughing!

2. Juanita:

(Investigator) She is one of the MANY Catholics who praise "Maria Guadalupe". When we visited her, she had a cast on her foot because she sprained it at work. She is SUPER awesome! When said the opening prayer of course I prayed that her foot would heal fast. During the lesson we talked about the Trinity. When we started talking about the Holy Ghost she looked at me, "Hermana Winsor, when you were praying and your prayed for my foot...I felt something warm in my foot. Not pain or discomfort...like, everything was going to be alright. Like He knows me." Gosh, the Spirit was SO strong! Through a simple opening prayer, the Spirit testified our message to be true. Juanita recognized our message was true- she is VERY receptive and loving. I love her SO much!

3. Familia Martiniz Lucio:

(less actives) They are an awesome and HILARIOUS family! When we walked in, they fed us right away...tostadas with NOPALES! (cactus) We taught about the Plan of Salvation and it was definitely powerful! Fuimos escogidos antes de nacer ... nuestro Padre Celestial nos conoce y nos ama MUCHO!

4. Familia Tovar:

(investigators) A potencial family! The have 3 daughters and only 2 of them, Erica (19 yrs old) and Ducle (10 yrs old) and the mom are the only ones who are truly interested. They are a loving family who have been investigating the church for awhile and used to do all their commitments....but now, they haven't been doing them :( We don't know why and we were going to drop them but...there is SOMETHING holding us back. We invited them last week to go to church but they didn't come :( They want to go! But they say they always forget even when we remind them and remind them. They are truly special and ALWAYS receive us really well! Please pray that they weill start doing their commitments! This is the last week we are giving them to do their commitments. Please pray!!!

5. Familia Chavez:

(less actives) It is actually not their fault that they are less active... the dad is not a member. And wow, he will NOT let them go to church or he will disown whoever goes. He has already disowned one daughter for allowing the missionaries to buy her a church dress.And the thing is, we can only visit this family when the dad ISN'T in the house :( Please pray for this family! They are turly amazing and have a HUGE desire to return the church!

6. Hermana Maria Acosta:

(member) Awesome member! she has given us SO many references, she WANTS to accompany us and she WANT to works with us! Her and her duaghter are the only active members in her family.

7. Maria de Lourdes:

(investigator) In our area book, the missionaries before us "YOU NEED TO VISIT HER! SHE IS READY FOR BAPTISM!" And it is SO true! She has a friend that works with her who talks about the church as a "refuge" of tranquilidad (I forgot how to spell it in English) and peace. I asked, "Do you want what your friend has?" She said, "Yes... but my family will disown me if I join another church." Family, PRAY FOR HER!!!!! She is so stinkin' ready for baptism, it is ridiculous! She lives in an apartment with her 11 yr old son...with only 2 plastic tables, 2 matteresses and 1 TV...that is ALL. She had to start from the beginning and she NEEDS what we have as members of the TRUE Gospel! PRAY for her!!! This miercoles, vamos a darle una fecha :)

Those were just SOME of the amazing people I met. Our mission leader, Hno. Francisco is fantastic and has a great relationship with the Bishop! (YAY!) He wants to work with us, ALL 8 of us! He never lets us down!

A member saw us on the street during a REALLY
hot day, and bought us orange juice...in a bag!
Apparently this is SUPER normal here, to drink out
of plastic bags.

Holy cow it rained like CRAZY this week! There was one day where it was raining SO hard in the morning, the streets were literally overflowing and we thought we weren't going to be able to leave the house! But Heavenly Father is awesome and the water went down....we taught 5 lessons that day :)

My zone has been having baptisms EVERY week! We are the strongest in the mission. My companion and I will be having a baptism for a 9 yr old boy named Diego on the 26th of July...I am STOKED!

The ward is HUGE!!!! Going from 15 people attending church (Fresnillo) to more than 80 members (San Luis)...my heart is overjoyed! Also on Sunday, the Bishop asked ME to play the piano for la reunion sacramental and HE chose los himnos....which is a BIT nerve racking. I prayed hard because 1. I was exhausted, church is at 8 in the morning. 2. I was up all night throwing up because we ate chicken the night before. BUT I did it! I played really well :) The members here maginfy their callings and are amazing! I love my new ward! After 7 hard, faith-trying months in Barrio Alto, I see the work moving forward!

If YOU feel stuck in a trial, ENDURE AND ENJOY! There are ALWAYS blessings in the end if we endure faithfully with obedience. I am SO happy here! I was sick on Saturday and Sunday but the work doesn't stop!
"Don't you give up. Don't you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is HELP and HAPPINESS ahead...it will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come." -Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Miracles happen! Being here is not only a miracle but a blessing! KEEP STRONG! Dios les bendiga para siempre jamas! Estan en mis oraciones siempre :) Cuídese mucho, y recuerde...Venga lo que venga, disfrútalo!

Con amor, 

Hermana Winsor

P.S. I beg of you that after my mission, do NOT feed me chicken. The medic said that officially, I am "allergic" yaaay. haha

Do you see what I see? ... yep not only is there Mcdonalds....but WALMART! 

Went shopping this morning....also there is a Costco, Carl's Jr., 

Subway and KFC. Dreams really do come true in San Luis Potosi!!!

​

This doesn't really need an explanation, does it?

Hermana Vera, trained by Hermana Calderon...same district :)

Huge gigantic ants!

Happy Independence Day!

We had transfers....

I GOT TRANSFERRED TO SAN LUIS POTOSÍ!!!! I am in Barrio Joyas 2, Estaca Benito Juarez Este :) Wow, I never thought I would see the day where I would leave Fresnillo!! I seriously felt like how you did, Dad. I thought the [Mission] President forgot me! Shoot, 7 months in my first area....and I am almost halfway done with my mission, hahahaha!

We received transfers last night at 10:30pm, so Hermana Fa'asa and I were up until 2:00am cleaning the house and packing....entonces, I am a bit tired - but I am happy! Apparently my new area is a GOLDEN area,  woohoo!!! :) My companion is Hermana Carreto, she's from Puebla, Mexico, and she is legit :) The computer won't show the pictures of us together, I will try next week! :)

Wanna hear a funny story? Guess who is one of my sister training leaders here in San Luis? Are you guessing? If you guessed, "Hermana Moreno," you guessed right. Yaaaaay…Hermana Fa'asa and I cried a lot while packing. I am DEFINITELY going to miss her. She didn't have transfers; she is still partying it up in Fresnillo :)

So, Carlos left town Wednesday to Friday (well, I think)...and we told him to call us ASAP when he was in town so we could prepare his baptism. Well, long story short - never called. So we didn't have his baptism, but he still wants to get baptized! But all I can say is, I was the seed planter :) Now the other missionaries can go reap him up!

Mari's new dog, "Mia"...the world's SMALLEST dog.

We visited Hermana Mari and we bought her a mug that you can right on with chalk. We wrote "Si Se Puede!" on it and we filled it with her favorite type of candy, paletas :) We gave it to her and she was STOKED! She could not stop smiling as she held it in her hands. I KNOW she can stop smoking...she is REALLY using her faith. I know she can do it! She even came to church on Sunday. She asked US to pass by her house at 8:15am to wake her up, then we passed for William (who wasn't ready and "had to take a shower" haha) and then we returned to walk to church with her! She came to church! :) Mari participated in Principios del Evangelio and, wow, the Atonement can help ANYONE - it is amazing to look back on how much Hna Mari has changed. I hope she never gives up!

Happy 'MURICA Day!!!! :)

How was everyone's 4th of July? We had a Zone Conference and Hna Fa'asa and I dressed up in red, white and blue. We would walk up to the other American Missionaries, "Happy 4th of July?" "Wait...what's today?" "Uhh...only Independence Day for the USA..." "OHHHH! I totally forgot!!!!" hahaha! Elder Flores talked about Aptitude and Attitude, and WOW, it was awesome! Aptitude is the capacity we have to do something. Our attitude will affect our aptitude. If we have a good attitude, our aptitude will grow! If we have a Christlike attitude in the mission, our aptitude will be overflowing with amazing things we can do! But we can only do them if we have Christ. Nothing is impossible if we have him not only in our lives, but in our hearts. I seriously loved this conference!

This describes our district PERFECTLY!
Gonna miss these missionaries! :)

​

Can I just say how much I LOVE the book of Mosiah? EVERYONE should read King Benjamin´s address! He is an amazing person and an example for ALL of us! My Spanish scriptures are CRAZY marked up, I might need NEW scriptures because I have found SO many amazing things. Me ENCANTA el Libro de Mormon!!! Es la palabra de Dios, es una guía y debemos userlo si quieremos regresar a nuestro Padre Celestial. DUH. haha.

I love you all and I am stoked to be here in San Luis Potosí. I have heard many awesome things about this area and the ward…they actually want to help us!!! WHOA. Miracle. hahaha!

Thank you for your support and your love! Take care of yourselves!!

Hermana Yañez and her granddaughters. We taught about
missionary work and did some practices with them :)

Con Amor,

Hermana Winsor

Hermana Marta, investigator

This is Hermana Mari....yep....this is how she dresses normally in our lessons. JUST. LOOK. UP.

Coolest district leader EVER!

8 months down!

June 30, 2014

This is what happens when you go to Plateros but there is no room in the bishop's truck...so the missionaries get put in the back. PARTY IN THE BACK!

8 months...WHAT WHAT!

Wow, I have been on the mission for 8 MONTHS!!!! And then in one month, I will be at my halfway mark....CRAZY!!!!! We woke up this morning and as I was stretching, Hna Fa'asa looks at me, "Uh....can you leave?" I bust out laughing and leave the room...and I come back to THIS!

So we have this inside joke...that I am secretly black
and my companion is super racist.

She bought Arizona Watermelon/Kiwi Juice and candy, she wrote in the journal Melanie & Danny bought me for Christmas, she bought Root Beer (which is SUPER rare in Mexico) and she wrote me and awesome card! :) She also framed a quote by Hinckley with awesome Rapunzel on it :)

So I was LESS sick this week! Still have Typhoid....but hey, the keyword is LESS. :) Mom, I found Greek yogurt hiding in the corner of a store and I have been eating one every morning and night :) Tuesday I woke up pretty sick but I got the strength to go to District meeting and WOW ....I got slapped in the face. Elder Ouderkirk taught about how WE can help our investigators progress. He said:

1. Be Obedient: "Their understanding (the investigators) will be influenced by YOUR personal worthiness." When I am not obedient, I am not worthy. When I am not worthy, I DON'T have the Spirit.

"The Spirit is the most important single element in this work. With the Spirit magnifying your call, YOU CAN DO MIRACLES for the Lord in the mission field. Without the Spirit, you will NEVER succeed regardless of your talent & ability." -Ezra Taft Benson

If that isn't a slap to the face, I don't know what it is.

2. Be More Converted EVERY DAY: I really need to start building up my testimony. WE need to build our testimonies EVERY day...we can NOT let a day go by where we're not reading the Book of Mormon. We need our testimonies to protect us, we need to have that secure knowledge of our Lord or else we will fall EASILY.

Waiting for the camión :)

The district meeting definitely helped me get more motivated in the mission.

This week we have TRIED and TRIED to go teach Carlos in Plateros, we have made appointments with him and he said he would be at his house but 75% of the time...he wasn't there. GAH! But he still is going to be baptized this week, the baptism is still planned :) YAAAAY!

But one of the UN BUEN de veces fuimos a Plateros, we found a NEW investigator named Mario. Lemme describe who is Mario, he is about 22 years old and is SUPER nice and is covered in tattoos. Your first impression when you see him is, "He looks like a rascal...up to no good." But he is AWESOME. He literally reminds me of Peter Pan, but Mexican...so, Pedro Pan (I am hilarious). haha! But we taught him about "Dios Nuestro Amoroso Padre Celestial" and when we sang "Soy un Hijo De Dios", all he could really say after "Es bonito, verdad? Tan bonito."

We started teaching and when we started talking about Jesus Christ, Mario looked SUPER confused. I asked, "Sabe quien es Jesucristo?" "Uh. no." Ah shoot. So, we talked more about Christ and the next time we will see him we will focus specifically on the Atonement. I feel like he has a past and doesn't really have some structure in his life. He is truly awesome and I am grateful to plant a seed in his heart about his loving Savior Jesus Christ. :) I don't know what I would do without a knowledge of who is our Savior.....

Tuesday night we had some HARDCORE rain, thunder and lightning. Our house even flooded a bit and our electricity went out as we were getting ready for bed. The streets turned into rivers and it was AWESOME! I love the rain here in Mexico, apparently August is when it pours and pours and KEEPS pouring! I am STOKED! It is beautiful when it rains :)

On Thursday I had an awesome personal study, super full of revelation. I was reading Mosiah 3 and WOW. EVERYONE needs to read that chapter and then KEEP reading it. It gave me some more motivation...I read it and definitely thought, "I need to put on my to-do list ...be like a little child." hahaha! Read Mosiah 3! It is AMAZING! Then I read Elder Bednar's talk, "Bear Up Their Burdens With Ease:"

"Sometimes we mistakenly may believe that happiness is the absence of a load. But bearing a load is a necessary and essential part of the plan of happiness. Because our individual load needs to generate spiritual traction, we should be careful to not haul around in our lives so many nice but unnecessary things that we are distracted and diverted from the things that truly matter most."

My load is necessary...and I need not carry this load alone. 

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”

​In essence, the Savior is beckoning us to rely upon and pull together with Him, even though our best efforts are not equal to and cannot be compared with His. As we trust in and pull our load with Him during the journey of mortality, truly His yoke is easy and His burden is light. We are not and never need be alone. We can press forward in our daily lives with heavenly help. Through the Savior’s Atonement we can receive capacity and ‘strength beyond [our] own.’” 

I loooooved this talk and I encourage every single one of you to read it & then read it again! The Lord wants to help us, He wants to carry the load....but we gotta’ hand the load to him. We have to have faith in HIM. He loves us SO much, He knows we can do it!

This week we had a lot of "WHERE IS EVERYONE?" moments, but we kept trying to find people. Carlos is doing pretty well, his baptism is set for 5 de julio, sabado...but he is going to be out of town miercoles-viernes...and he doesn't know when he'll be back, friday night or saturday morning :/ So we are having a difficult time with when we'll have his interview :( Please pray that things will go well! That he'll be back and we'll have his baptism Saturday night!!! He didn't go to church yesterday because of some family problems, but he has been to church PLENTY of times before.

BUT speaking of Sunday! We passed for William and he said, "Can we pass for someone more?" We go and pass for his aunt and uncle. He knocks....and knocks...and knocks....church starts at 9:00am and it is 8:50am...so we say for him to start "being a missionary now" and wait for them while we go pass for Hermana Mari, and we'll just all meet up in the chapel.

So we go to Hna Mari's house because the night before when we were visiting her, she said, "I will be waiting for you!" We went and knocked, knocked and knocked. Finally I just knocked freakishly loud on her door and she opens her window.....SHE JUST WOKE UP!!! I looked at her, "What are you doing?! Come to church! Get ready!" "I am sorry! I just woke up! I promise I will go!"

Well....Mari didn't go and neither did William. Yep, we will be visiting them soon and uh, breaking down their doors....just kidding. But really. hahaha! We have been reading Alma 5 with Mari and she told us that she has been better, then she asked, "Why is it so hard? I have been trying!"

Her question hit me pretty deep.

After Church :)

It only gets harder before it gets better and easier. If it is NOT hard, we will never grow. We are here to grow. We have people, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ who are ALWAYS cheering us on. They will help us if we just rely on them. They KNOW we can overcome all...they give us specific trials because they know we can overcome! THAT is why it is hard. We can do it. :)

Well, another week down....another month gone. One more month and it will be my halfway mark! Wow, time is crazy flyin' by. Transfers are on July 6th, right after Carlos' baptism. Am I going? Or am I going to stay in Fresnillo for ANOTHER month? What are your guesses? San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas or Aguascalientes? WHO KNOWS! I'll go where He wants me to go :)

Cuídense mucho, Dios les bendiga :) Les amo mucho! 

Con Amor,

Hermana Winsor

Note from Mom: In a separate email to us, Aubri reports: "Hermana Calderon [her MTC companion] got sent home. She was diagnosed with Malaria and some parasite thing. My heart is super broken & I feel, terrible. She was my strength here in the mission, and now she isn't here. Please pray for her that she will get better....please pray that I will have strength to move on."