The Return.

Wow, I am back.

It feels like yesterday I was just posting "OH MY GOSH I AM GOING TO MEXICO." Well, almost a year later... we're here again.
Just to get everyone updated - yes, I did come home.
If you remember in February, I got Influenza for a week or two and stared Death right into the face a couple times. My physical defenses just plummeted from not eating or drinking water for such a long time, and I lost 15 pounds (it was a pro and con). In March - July, I had Typhoid and it . was . miserable. You can't eat anything, you never have an appetite, your bones always hurt and you always ALWAYS have good ol' diarrhea.

Literally.

I was in my first area, Fresnillo, and I was in the hospital twice. NOT FUN. I was in that area for 8 full months. It was the HARDEST, emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually...the whole 10 yards and then some.

I got transferred to the best area EVER, San Luis Potosi. I met amazing people, members, investigators, people on the street - San Luis Potosi has a special place in my heart. I was there for 2 months (about a transfer and a half) and towards the end - hospital time AGAIN! The doctors took like 4 things of blood, I got poked and prodded. The Mission President visited me in the hospital and well... to avoid many details, I came home. 

"So Aubri are you like DEPRESSED?"

Yes and no. A mission CHANGES you - the feeling and the Spirit is completely different. I loved Mexico even though it almost killed me, I miss it! To be a missionary is the HARDEST thing you can do in your WHOLE life, but it is so worth it. I do not regret one bit of my mission, I am not shameful that I came home because I NEEDED to do it, I was sick every single transfer and I was dying slowly. (Wow, that's pretty dramatic, Aubri.) Nope, just being honest :)  ANYWHO, I love life. It is hard adjusting but trials make us stronger.

I decided that Nacho Libre quotes were appropriate for this post.

ANYWHO, life is good. Especially MY life is good - my Heavenly Father has been SO good to me so I have NO room to complain. Yes I cried like a small child on the plane back to the USA, but that is besides the point. I am in good hands, my physical health is increasing majorly based on the major clean diet my mom has put me on. It is called "Melaleuca" where it is ALL natural type of healthy food and IT TASTES GOOD. It's a miracle and I love it! It feels good to feel physically healthy where your bones don't hurt, you don't have diarrhea every single day, I can actually sleep. LIFE IS GOOD :) The Lord has always been there for me and I have complete trust in me. 

I finished my mission, I did what the Lord wanted me to do and therefore...

I am happy. 

:)

Catching up

From Aubri's mom: The last 2 emails have been addressed to us, so this is an excerpt from both letters so that y'all are up to speed on her whereabouts.

August 18

Hey Mom & Dad,

So...this happened this week - ​Yup, I was in the hospital Tuesday and Wednesday.

Sunday, I had the "pins and needles" feeling in my stomach. Took some Pepto, but still had pain. That night it was SUPER painful and I didn't sleep. Monday, it was still there. We taught FHE with Hna Marta Acosta and I could NOT concentrate I was in so much pain. That night, it became extreme and I didn't sleep again.

Tuesday morning, my companions let me sleep in. At 8:45am, Hna Carreto woke me up, "We called Hna Villarreal, we're going to the hospital." Well, when we arrived, I felt even worse, dizzy, nausea, extreme pain in my stomach, bones and kidneys.

They did studies (took blood, x-rays, etc.) and then put an IV in my hand to take away a little of the pain as we waited for the results. We waited 4 hours in a teeny tiny urgent care room (w/o AC) and the gastrologist came in, "We're going to keep you overnight until Wednesday night, so we can do more studies."

They moved me to a hospital room and Elder Olalde came, gave me a blessing & helped me out of my extreme discouragement. haha! Las líderes capacitadoras came and visited me. The doctor put me on a PURE liqiud diet, but the problem is, whatever I ate, I felt like I was going to throw up.

Tuesday night, I did not sleep a lot. I am pretty sure I slept about 1-2 hours because the nurses were doing their job right and checking on me every other hour, hahaha :) Wednesday, the medicine they gave me had me in migraines and nausea.

The President and his wife happened to be in San Luis and they visited me also. President told me I would be having transfers to Aguascalientes so that I can get studies from the doctors over there, and so I can be closer to the President and his wife. But today we received transfers and I didn't receive transfers for Aguascalientes. I am confused but SUPER happy that I get to stay in San Luis Potosi. I love it here!)

Well, after they left, the doctor entered and showed me the results. The good news is, I DON'T have Typhoid! yaaaaay! BUT, I have something called Proteus. (Note from mom: I think that's what The Elephant Man had. Now who's confused?) 

I can't eat anything with lactose, grease, irritants, chicken. I have no idea what I CAN eat, haha. I left the hospital Wednesday night, Hna Paty Saldaña helped us get to the house. But the car ride to the house messed me up and I got super sick again. I was up ALL night. I was absolutely miserable Wednesday night/Thursday Morning.

The doctor gave me a super strong prescription to take away the bacteria, and pure bed rest for FIVE. DAYS. Oh my gosh, I was babysat by members and I was SO bored!!! I really do appreciate their support and help. But holy cow, SO BORING just sitting in a bed. Hna Carreto and Hna Albornoz left to work, and when they came back they never really talked to me. Well, it was a REALLY long week!

Hna Villarreal told us Saturday night, I could go to church on Sunday and work. Well, Sunday night I didn't sleep (same Friday night and Thursday night) so I was exhausted and since I hadn't walked a lot/hadn't eaten much in 6 days, I was SUPER weak/dizzy. We walked the 30 minute walk to the chapel and I barely made it through the 3 hours of church. Since I got more sick, I stayed with the mission leader's family. They let me sleep, fed me fruit and a little bit of bread. They really helped me A LOT, they talked to me and got me to laugh. Hna Gonzalez Diaz (mission leader's wife) helped me out A BUNCH. She reminded me a lot of you Mom :)

I returned to our house and none of us received transfers! I jumped for joy a couple times and I am still jumping for joy :) I love San Luis!

But yeah, please pray for me. I do NOT want to come home early. If I do get transfers to Aguascalientes and I DON'T get better, there is a 80% chance that I am going home early. I don't have words for how much I will feel like I failed. If I go home, I am afraid that I will feel like I wasted not only everyone's time here...but the Lord's time as well.

August 25

Well, I will be coming home this week. I am ready to get better physically and emotionally. I love you both and I really appreciate your support in this. I know this is what I need to do. As much as I want to stay here, I gotta return home. When I get home, can we go to the temple? I need that spirit there :) 

In Philippians 2:14, "Do all things without murmurings and disputings." I gotta do His will. He wants the best for me...well then, I have no reason to complain.

My new companions took me on a mini tour of
Aguas. Lots of catedrales here. When I first arrived,
they took us here...memory lane :)

I am here in Aguascalientes in a trio with Hermana Canales (from Honduras..trainer. She is 27 years old, but looks like she is 18 years old), Hermana Miner (from Utah...trainee). They have been really good to me and have helped me out a lot in this rather difficult time. I know the Lord will prepare the way as long as we are obedient. He sent me these 2 awesome sisters to help me out before the return and I am FOREVER grateful for them :) 

Well Mom and Dad, I love you and I will be seeing you soon. The President hasn't told me the plan if I am returning, but all I know is, Pronto nos vemos. Les amo y gracias por todo que han hecho por mi. 

Adios :)

Hermana Winsor

The 6 foot 2 inches giant  Elder Olalde had transfers and is going to
finish his mission in Fresnillo!

I found hermana Eliason also, my twin! :)

The Aguas Trio :)

 This is what happens when you ask the elders to help you
take pictures....Elder Matos form Brasil and Elder Tebbs from Utah.

En Aguascalientes, preparing to go home...and saw Hna Fa'asa! :) 

A few tears were shed.. she speaks Spanish REALLY well, is 

happy all the time, and is really progressing!

This is the most awesome-est investigator,
Maria de Lourdes, who will be getting baptized Sept 27th :)

Before I traveled with the Presidente and his wife
to Aguascalientes, said goodbye to Hna Carreto.

September 15: Mexico Day! The stores are
FILLED with things of mexico. And this day
is a Monday soooo....we should definitely
do a Mexico family home evening :)

Three-O

Hola mi Familia,

This is what happens when you decide to not bring your
umbrella and it starts to rain like mad....
and you have to look for shelter and juuuust wait...

A week full of heat and hurricane-like rain. It is hurricane season here in Mexico and since we are no where near the ocean, we DO receive the "after math". Curtains of rain, streets flooded and a BUNCH of lightning. Slightly scary but SUPER fun!

We helped Hna Vera at el central, EAARLY in the mornin'

We had a district meeting in ENGLISH! Wanna know something kinda weird? I like the district meetings better in Spanish. Haha! Anywho, we learned about how to have ONE voice in our companionship(s). 

On Sunday, I received a secret note from Hna Albornoz saying how much she was suffering with her companion and how she didn't know what to do. Well, I gave her every single piece of advice I have in my 118 lb body and she rejected EVERY bit. hahaha! Poor thing. She ended up convincing ME to talk to the zone leaders because she was "too scared." Annnnd BOOM - "Special transfers."

Hna Vera was transferred early to Aguascalientes and President never assigned a companion to Hermana Albornoz. So I am going to be in a trio until the 16th when we have REAL transfers: so our area grew since NOW we have to work in the area of Hna Albornoz also. Please pray that I can keep my patience, my strength, and my health this week.

My health this week? Ehhhhhh...it's there! hahaha! I did find medicine/probiotics, but keep praying for me! Maybe it's because of the huge weightloss or maybe it's another awesome sickness that I inherited...haha. WHO KNOWS!

We taught Diego and Luis- and it was REAAALY hard this week. Their mom, aunt, and dad do NOT help us at all. They leave the room so that we can babysit them and after the mayhem this week, yeah, it's obvious Diego does not want to be baptized. Luis, on the other hand, wants nothing else BUT a baptism. But his parents push him to the side because he is 8 yrs old and the bishop is in control of him, not us. BUT their parents don't help AT ALL. When we ask them to help us, 1) they pout, 2) they make up excuses so they don't help us and go into the other room and watch TV, and 3) When they DO help us, they get their boys MORE distracted. 

We had an appointment with them on Friday but they never showed up. When Hna Paty Luna called them, "Oh we forgot, but we're coming right now!" Well, after 2 hours of waiting...they STILL never showed up. We had to leave because we had another appointment. But we left 2 pamphlets for Diego and Luis to read. We asked Hna Paty on Sunday if they ever showed up, and she said no! And they never answered their phones! The mom of Diego is a member, the dad isn't but they BOTH told us that they would help...well, it's incredibly sad to watch Luis (who WANTS to be baptized) be pushed aside by his incredibly unaware and lazy parents.

My favorite food here! Molletes! Bread with beans, lettuce,
tomatoes, creme, and weritos! (parts of pig stomach)

Maria de Lourdes LOVED church!!! She didn't go to church this last Sunday because of work. She HAS to work because she is incredibly poor and has no food. So we are working around her work schedule to give her a baptismal date. We had an awesome lesson with her and Hna Acosta about repentance and The Atonement. She hasn't accepted a date because she is SUPER scared...and doesn't feel ready. But she is not only SUPER ready, she is CHOSEN! Keep praying for her!!!

Roxanna really wants to be baptized ASAP but her sister asked her to participate in her nephews catholic baptism in December. But if you are a member of the Church, you can't participate in things like this. And she wants to have a baptism AFTER December so she can help her sister...GAH. December is SO far away :(

Ok, this week was hard, when we talk language-wise. There is a member who gave us a reference and went with us to visit this family. And of course, I am not perfect in the language (that's obvious), but this brother began to ridicule me IN FRONT of the investigators. We finished the lesson and we went to go eat with a member family. I tried letting it roll of my shoulders this day. 

Paty Saldaña's daughter finished her mission!

Then on Saturday before going to go eat, we visited the SAME member and his wife because we could not find ANYONE else. We were sitting down chatting and he goes, "Look, Hna Winsor, I have no idea what you are saying. You make me sad because you have been here for 9 months and you can't speak - what have you been doing here? Are you at least trying? Do you even understand me?" HE GOES OFF! And I just sat there, and I took it all in. Yes Dad, I went silent because I was going to burst into tears if I said something. "Stop trying Hna Winsor, you are wasting your breath." 

Yeah, it was hard. I definitely burst into tears right after we walked into the other members house, where we were going to go eat. The other member, Hna Liliana, thought I was sick. I explained what happened and she says, "You really believe what he said? Yeah, you are not PERFECT in the language, but neither are we as natives of Mexico! We can understand you and you can understand us. Don't worry about him; he has no idea what he is talking about." She hugged me, gave me tissues and then told me the food would help me feel better. Hahahaha! I really appreciated her love and help. She shared this scripture with me: 

"But I say, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, 

and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." (Matt 5:44)

She told me to pray for this member, that he can feel the love of Christ more in his life. THEN, she said I need to talk to this member privately. I laughed and said, "I am WAY too scared." Then she shared Isaiah 41:10:

​Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; 

yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. 

​

I have no reason to fear, Heavenly Father is with me and he is with US. He will NEVER abandon us. I can speak the language, it is evidence that Heavenly Father has always been here with me.

I love you family! Keep strong, come what may & love it! Keep practicing Spanish so that you can come here to San Luis Potosi and see how amazing it is! LES AMO TANTO! :) Nos vemos en 9 meses :)

Con Amor,

Hna Winsor

PS. I sent a package to Mom and Dad, a letter to Hna Calderon and a letter to Sami Nielsen :)

We went to El Centro here in San Luis Potosi (po-TOE-see) last Monday - I forgot to send these :)

9 months, 39 weeks - 274 days!

SO I just received an email from Hna Fa'asa and CESAR GOT BAPTIZED!!!!! WHAT?! I am going to count that as my 1st baptism :) ...even though I wasn't there... haha!

Ignore my red face and fly-a-ways. We JUST had
returned home from a day of HARD work :)

BOOM! Look at me now- 9 months done and 9 more to go! SINGLE DIGITS PEOPLE!

Well, one of the things that happened on my 9 month mark... a man on a bike casually rode by REALLY close annnnnd...grabbed my rear end. Did I imagine his death? Yes. Did I feel 1100% violated? YUP. But don't worry, I received permission from the zone leaders that if it happens again, I can carry a rock in my bag to chuck at the man's head. In situations like this, charity does NOT apply.

This week was pretty genial: Elder Olalde and Elder Hermansen had a baptism for a woman named Marilou, who has 3 more months of life because of stomach cancer. It was the most powerful experience watching her being baptized by a young father who was JUST baptized 2 weeks earlier. The Spirit was SO strong during her baptism :) Later that day, there was a baptism for an 8 yr old boy, Nefia and Maria de Lourdes came! It took some convincing, "hermanas, I am tired...hermanas, I am lazy...blah blah blah." After 3 minutes of PURE persuasion, she came...and she liked the baptism A LOT! Heck, she liked it so much that she was more than willing to come to church! and she DID! She loved the testimony meeting and she said that she felt something strong. We passed for her in the morning and she was COMPLETELY ready :) It was a miracle-filled Sunday! We had THREE investigators come to church :)

Friday we had a zone conference, but this time when we talked about numbers, we talked about that the numbers are NOT important and shouldn't be our main focus: the people are the main focus. I swear I heard angels sing during this conference! 

Elder Hermansen talked about 1 Timothy 4:12, "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." We need to represent Jesus Christ in EVERYTHING we do. Being "an example of the believers" is showing that you BELIEVE in Christ & His Gospel. We must show our love for Christ in our lives and through our obvious love for the Savior; we'll be able to draw others to Christ through our light. And when you are a believer, you aren't afraid to show it. 

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation 

to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."

​Barrio Joyas missionaries :) Elder Olalde, Elder Hermansen
(makin' the creeper face), Hermana Albornoz and Hermana Vera

Elder Olalde then talked about "How can we have more investigators in Sacrament?" We NEED to have a strong testimony of the Sacrament before we expect to have investigators in Sacrament Meeting. He asked all of us, "When was the last time you REALLY paid attencion (how do you spell that in English?) to the Sacrament prayers?" How am I going to teach the grand importance of the Sacrament if even I don't even understand and I don't pay atención? It is 110% guaranteed that I will NOT have investigators in Sacrament. The Investigators need to understand the promise that "they may always have HIS Spirit ot be with them." and that nothing is impossible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. That through HIS Spirit, they can receive the answer of what is true.

"And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon MY holy day." The Spirit we receive from La Santa Cena [the sacrament] will keep us unspotted & in peace :)

TAREA [homework]: This Sunday, pay atencion to the Sacrament Prayers :)

My zone leaders are awesome & I'm happy to be in the same ward as them. I just wanted to also add that on Sunday, I asked for a Priesthood Blessing from Elder Olalde. I needed some encouragement, realizing that you only have 9 months left on the mission and you haven't had ONE baptism...it is SUPER hard and emotionally draining. When they say, "Time isn't merciful..." it's frightening and true. He asked me, "What's goin' on?" All I told him was that I needed some strength. I did NOT go into specific information but yet, as he gave me the blessing, he blessed me with such specific things that met to my EXACT needs. The priesthood is AMAZING- Heavenly Father knows me and my needs. He used Elder Olalde to help me with specific things that I needed. After the huge amount of love I felt on Sunday, there is NO way I can deny that the Priesthood is the power & authority of God, our Heavenly Father.

Hna Carlsen, Hermana Garcia (super hilarious) y yo.

On Friday & Saturday, I went on intercambios with Hna Carlsen (she arrived to Mexico with me)! Her companion is Hna Moreno and she went with my companion. During intercambios, there was A LOT of "Come What May and Love it" moments, for example: We ate with the Garcia Family (AWESOME FAMILY!) 

and as I was sitting next to the wall, eating...part of the ceiling fell into my hair and food. It wasn't alot but it was enough to notice that...there was ceiling in my food. But, oh, how we laughed & laughed! Everytime they asked if I wanted food, I held up my plate to the ceiling and said, "No Hermana, I am waiting for some more of your ceiling to fall..it was incredibly delicious." We laughed some more! There is no reason for me to complain that there was ceiling in my food, when obviously I could pick out the ceiling pieces and laugh. As I continued eating, a little more fell into my food and I said, "Oh! Manna!" We were ALL holding our sides, we were laughing so hard. 

I loved this moment, because there was no reason for me to be angry or annoyed. I CHOSE to "come what may and love it" :) Hna Carlsen taught me this phrase by Pres. Hinckley, "You haven't failed until you stopped trying."

Pues, tengo 9 meses en la misión. Realmente, el tiempo no tiene misericordia. Sí, no tengo mi propio bautismo pero...uno de mis investigadores de Fresnillo fue bautizado. Cesar era un investigador por 5 años y a penas fue bautizado. MILAGRO! Yo no estuve en su bautismo, pero durante 7 meses enseñándole... yo puedo decir, he ayudado alguien a venir a cristo :) No he fallado y no quiero fallar. No voy a fallar, y no puedo porque Jesucristo esta siempre conmigo. Estoy tan agradecida por la carga que Padre Celestial ha quitado de mis hombros. Soy una misionera exitosa y feliz. Recuerde su Padre Celestial y SU voluntad, es SU tiempo :) El tiempo no tiene misericordia y esto significa que no debamos perder el tiempo...por que es el tiempo del Señor. Les amo mucho, mi familia y nos vemos MUY pronto. Después 9 meses, he sentido el tiempo corre mas aprisa. Lean sus escrituras, sean ejemplos de los creyentes :) Les amo y hasta la próxima semana :)

ADIOS!

Con amor,

Hermana Winsor

PS. I have sent letters to Madison Seaman, Danny and Melanie and Mom and Dad :)

Perfection.

We walked into an investigator's house, and they randomly have a pet hawk....WHAT?!?

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 :)