PACHUCA!

I'm here! I am actually in my mission now!!! Man today (Monday) has been very very long and it's not even over yet. I woke up at 4:15 this morning and then we drove to the airport, switched buses and then drove to Pachuca! The bus we were on was absolutely the best bus I've been on. It was super luxurious. When we arrived, the mission president and his wife talked to us about mission expectations. I am SOOOO excited to start this work! Tonight  I will actually go talk to people. AHHHH. It's so scary but I'll be okay :) 

I didnt bring my camera cord which is my bad. I had a lot more pictures to send but yeah.  Hmm I'm sitting in a kinda really random hole in the wall with computers. kinda like a super downgraded internet cafe minus the cafe and bring on the ghetto hehehe nah it's way less ghetto than mexico city. 

This is just a small email until next week! I will have A LOT more to say next monday (my new pday). I've been waiting for this moment for a while and I'm so so SOOO happy right now to be here, and I know this is where I am supposed to be!!!

I love you all!!!

Hermana Cross

Goodbye CCM!

I can't believe this is the final week in the CCM. It seriously blows my mind! It has gone by so dang fast! I was kinda hoping it would be slow becasue I don't feel 100% ready to leave this place. I have made so many great friends and I just love my teachers so much...it's like leaving all over again haha. Everyone's motivation is at an all time low. probably because it's the last week and after 6 weeks it's really really easy to lose focus. We have been trying to be better as a district with focusing buuuuuut when you are really good friends it's hard to haha.  Unfortunately I left my journal back at my casa so this letter will be short because it will by my memory only.  Alright sooooo sunday we had movie night and this time it was an actual movie! Not that the other ones arent but this one was Meet The Mormons. I never had to the chance to see it and wow I LOVED it. It's so cool to see other members of the church all around the world share what the church has done for them. I highly recommend it to ALL of you. At the end it touched my heart a bit (like there was some tears) because it was a missionary leaving to his mission and it is so crazy that I did that a little over a month ago and now I'm getting ready to leave the CCM!!! holy smokes.

Let's see....pizza night was on tuesday but by this time it's really not that exciting.  Our classes are the same and nothing too crazy there. I got a cute little package form my wonderful parents again! thanks for the halloween trick or treat stuff!!!! Day of the Dead is the 1st and 2nd of November so I'll be in pachuca for that! I don't know much about their festivities but Mexican really REALLY like to party. the fireworks haven't stopped but my this point in time, no one acknowledges it. We are becoming like the mexicans.  My travel plans are very simple. I leave monday at 5:30 AM. We drive because pachuca is only 2 hours away from here. the Elders in my district leave at like 2;30 AM and 3:00 AM on monday because they have to fly to northern mexico. really glad I don't have to do that!  Let's see....life is good! sometimes if I hear my name it's really weird. I sometimes forget that my name is Katrina haha also song lyrics are disappearing from my brain. Musicals are one of the type of songs that stick. I sing Wicked and Hairspray almost everyday. it's a new thing for our lovely roomates to sing before we go to bed. They are a HOOT. sorry guys that's all I can think of! unfortunately I dont have a lot pictures either. Kinda slacking on this letter haha. 

thanks for everything and I pray for you all! I can't wait to go to pachuca and understand little to nothing haha jk I'm so stoked! Love you all!!!!

Hermana Cross

My other CCM Roommates

The "Lego Hands"that let out the stink

CCM Meal - pork and rice....interesting

Remnants of a yummy treat sent by the parentals!

1 month,2 temple trips, 3 sick missionaries

The blue skies really bring out the beauty!

GUESS WHAT?! I went to the temple AGAIN. Wow it was so awesome going for a second time while in the CCM. Who would have thought I would get such an awesome blessing! This time the skies were blue so my pictures of the temple look way better. Oh man I can't explain how much I love the temple. such a great feeling of peace and happiness. This time there were about 54 missionaries. so since the majority were americans and spoke english, the session was in english! it was really nice having that :)

Tomorrow is my one month in Mexico! I have been here 4 weeks but 30 days is tomorrow. I seriously can't believe it. It feels like the longest month of my life but at the same time really really really slow. I leave here a week from monday. Hermana Shumway left this past monday and it's so weird not seeing her all the time haha BUT a friend from high school just arrived last night and so that's fun! alright guys sorry this letter will most likely be super short because nothing out of the ordinary happened.

 Friday and Saturday were the usual. Except since Sunday was fast sunday, we started our fast right after lunch on saturday. usually I would think about how hungry I am and how I just want water, but we are constantly doing something that preoccupies my mind so it wasn't a problem at all! Fast sunday was so good! I gave my testimony in spanish, and a little english because I'm not a spanish expert YET. key word yet haha. Spanish is not easy, that is a fact. As a district we have been trying to go solo español but it is so hard. Our teachers keep telling us that we aren't reaching out full potential and that we have hit a plateau in our learning and are getting too comfortable. i can see where they are coming from....it's just so hard! BUT the language is not the most important in the work. this work is all about the Savior and love.  

Everyday here is a gorgeous day! It seriously is my ideal temperature. Heavenly Father knows me well :) A district from my zone left this week as well. they were all going stateside, which is totally awesome. That being said, My companion and I have been called as Sister Training Leaders....that means we help the sisters in our zone with whatever they need and be that example for them! Pretty cool! not a huge responsibility in the CCM but I'm still grateful for the opportunity. 

I may have mentioned before that we teach fake investigators (all in spanish every time...they are around 20 minutes each). that is still going really well and I learn something during every lesson what I can improve and how I can fix it. On wednesday nights though, we do this activity called TRC,. What we do is talk with REAL PEOPLE. like people from outside of these walls. they speak really fast but it's so awesome to get a taste of people who aren't creating a background story. they are telling their true experiences. They can either be investigators, less active members, or members. all volunteers. it's my absolute favorite part here.  

The ccm is great but when one person gets sick, every one gets sick. thankfully my companion and I didn't get the stomach bug that was floating around, but 3 of the Elders in our district got it. And then also the 2 sisters that share the room with us. a true miracle that I didn't get it! now everyone is better and back to the norm. 

I can't believe this upcoming week is my last week in the CCM. Time is just flying by! I couldn't be happier :)

I love you all so much and thanks for your thoughts and prayers!!!

Hermana Cross

Temple Round 2

Love Hermana Diaz! (Center- CCM Night Teacher)

District 11A with our night teacher Hermana Diaz

This is when we were all at the airport flying to mexico

#ldsconf

It feels like forever since I emailed but in reality it has only been a day longer. My Pday has been moved to Thursday which is okay....I really liked Wednesday but it is what it is! General Conference was over the weekend and it was absolutely AMAZINGGGGGG!!!!!! I hope you all enjoyed it! I will give you my highlights of what really stuck out to me and also just random facts of my week! And just to start, all of the sessions were in English :)

Today we left the CCM AGAIN! this time for immigration. We need to renew out visas because the

ones we got were only temporary. they just took our fingerprints and they just had to point and use gestures so that we knew what to do haha We actually saw the nice part of the city! I guess the CCM

is in the ghetto. Also it really stinks outside right now. There are these things called stink towers that let out the stench of the sewer. Literally smells like poop. very gross hahaha. Hna haddock and I ran outside for gym time. the first time running was TERRIBLE. I didn't think the elevation would make a difference but my lungs were screaming. Then I ran a mile yesterday and felt like I was on top of the world! Hmmm oh I had to get a tetanus booster shot because I guess mine wasn't sufficient? Idk. they made me say the Missionary objective in spanish and English. It was hard for me to know it in English haha I didn't really try to ever memorize it in English...oops! I received a

package from my awesome parents this week. It seriously made my life! I got a little slip and seriously hollered "oh yay my mom loves me and i love her!!!" And in it was oreo everything. yay oreos! I ate a salad this week. If you know me well, you would know I hate salad. I was so proud of myself haha. An elder in a new district is from FOCO! that was super neat to talk to someone from colorado.  Those are pretty much the highlights.

A lot of you have asked about my classes. They are great! I would say it's 80% gospel and 20% language or as Hna haddock says "100% gospel in the spanish language." it can be really hard. We teach fake investigators to help us learn how to teach. Yesterday Hna Haddock and I actually skyped with a real person! He was a member but we got to teach him and share a thought! made me super excited to leave here and go to pachuca!

I have a ton to day about General Conference so here it all is!

Saturday Sessions:

President Uchtdorf's talks are always so great. He is  such a wonderful man. I loved that he said  "Exaltation is our goal. Discipleship is our journey." He reminded us that being disciple doesn't have to be complicated, but to find the simplicity in Christ. I have really seen that in my time here at the CCM. We know a very small amount of spanish, but it can be used to our advantage because we teach the doctrine is the most simple way we can. Simplicity is bliss. Larry R. Lawrence. I definitely think out of all the sessions, his talk is at the top of my list. The main thing that stuck out to me was that the Holy Ghost gives us customized answers. He tells us what we need to hear in the way we understand. And sometimes we need to ask Heavenly Father "what can I improve? what is keeping me from improving?" and every time the Holy Ghost will tell you. We have to be willing to act when we receive the answer though. Jeffery R Holland. I love his talks. He doesn't sugar coat what needs to be said. He compared a mothers love to the Savior's love. boy is he right! Just a HUGE shout out to my awesome loving mom and for being the best example to me :) love you!

General Women's Broadcast

Super awesome but General Conference hit me more so I'm not going to really focus on this part :)

Sunday Session

I LOVE the prophet. you can see as he talks that he is the true prophet of God. it's sad to see that he is getting weaker as he gets older, but his faith is never ending :) Devin C Durrant. I loved that he said to pick a scripture and "ponderize." We are doing that as a district and a companionship. The scripture that I really enjoy and if you would like to "ponderize" on it, it is Alma 32:21 in The Book of Mormon.  Another quote that hit me was from Allen D Haynie when he said "The Savior's atonement leaves no traces or tracks...it just heals." It doesn't matter at what stage in life you are, repentance will always work. it's also a reminder that we need to repent daily, not only when we do something crazy.

General conference was seriously so good. I loved being in the CCM and seeing all of us just receiving the personal revelation we needed. I hope if you had a question, that you received it!!!

Love you all and I pray for you daily!

Hermana Cross

P.S. - we asked Katrina how the language is coming and she wrote the following:

"I guess one night I slept talk spanish haha I try to go over spanish words before bed so they are in my mind :)"

Sharing the Oreo Love with her district!

Beyond the Compound

Holy cow has it really been 2 weeks?!?! Time is soooo fast no joke! Life here is.....well it's the same thing everyday. Not even kidding you. We have a schedule so that we can make sure to use time wisely because they have said all this week that "this isn't your time, it's the Lord's time." And they are right! I have learned so much more this week about my calling to be a missionary and it has really opened up my eyes. Being a missionary is AWESOME but it's hard no doubt. 

Highlights of my week:

Sunday of course was the best. I gave the prayer (in spanish) for the second week in a row! I think I'm getting pretty pro at praying in spanish....but that's about it haha That night we had our little movie time and we wathced The Testaments. WOW SO GOOD. I encourage you all to watch it.  It really hit me hard when Christ visited the Americas and seriously it was just wonderful. 

Monday was relaxed because we watched elder Richard G Scott's funeral service. It was nice to see a taste of the states live. The service was beautiful. It was really nice just to listen to the stories of him and how great his life was. When they brought in the casket, I loved seeing all of us missionaries stand up in the CCM. truly powerful.

Tuesday was pizza night so that's note worthy haha :) oh and I sang in the ccm choir with Hma haddock. oh how I miss choir!

TODAYYYYY WAS AWESOMMMEEE!!!!! WE WENT TO THE TEMPLE!!!!! I REPEAT WE LEFT THE COMPOUND AND WENT TO THE TEMPLE!!! :) :) :)

Oh my it was so awesome to get a taste of the outside world. Mexico is just wow. It is so hard to explain in words. there are like 12 million people in Mexico city and you can sure tell. There are gates or walls around almost everything. Driving is chaos. there are people walking between cars, motorcycles with 5 people on them zig zaggin between cars. I'm really grateful for america that's for sure! The temple. man I have never been more excited in my life. It was awesome. The city is crazy and then the moment I walked into the temple there was just peace. I saw my favorite painting right when I walked in too. I'll try to find a picture and attach it :) If I can't find one, it's of Christ and 2 lamanite little girls. its gorgeous. We listened with translator headphones. I really do love to see the temple <3

OH to answer some questions you might have had about the guns or firework debate, we asked our teachers and this is what they told us. 99% of the time they are fireworks. Idk why Mexicans like to shoot them off at every hour of the day but they do. If it is a gun shot, it is because it symbolizes someones death, not someone actually being shot. I mean that could happen but most likely not haha 

I have taken up mentos because I miss gum like crazy.  and I think that's about it! I am so excited to see General conference this weekend! make sure you all tune in! We also are watching the recorded General Womens Broadcast so I have no idea what was said last week. all of it will be in english thank goodness!!

Love you all!

Hermana Cross

P.S, Katrina sent another email; we rode in a CCM bus :) roads are bumpy and just crazy! Also fun fact: the mexico city temple is one of 5 temples that the angel moroni is holding the golden plates!

Scary,crazy traffic!

Oh I love to see the Temple!

One of Five holding the Golden Plates

With her companion and sisters in another district

Katrina and her companaion