Has anyone had a baby?

HELLO!!

Wow what a fast week. And the part that's super duper crazy? I COMPLETED 9 MONTHS!!! one of you could have had a baby in this amount of time. Super crazy. These 9 months have been SO AWESOME! So happy that I still have 9 more to go! 

So this week was basically normal. We had our intercambios of course. 2 this week. I was here in San Juan one day and in another area for the second. The people here get really confused when we switch all the time. Poor people but it's just a testimony builder that we all teach the same things and the word of God is the same no matter what missionary is here.  

I've seen some great things happening in our area. We have a family of 4 progressing and they are set to be baptized on July 2nd. We are hoping it all goes smoothly...we have a teach the majority of the lessons in 2 weeks. YIKES. It's all good. We have also met some new people. We are really trying to improve in our How to begin Teaching. its a crucial part to helping the investigators. The members also have been stepping up their game. We had a super member join us and he volunteered to help all of our investigators and we didn't have to say a things! he went and actually read the BOM with an investigator like he promised. Wow talk about member missionary work! 

During the intercambios well nothing super cool to be honest. My bike helmet fell off the back of the bishops trunk and got a little destroyed so we could ride our bikes the following day. We walked a solid 50 minutes to pick up my helmet thinking it was normal but nope. I'll be looking for a new one because this one probs wont help me a ton haha  

One of our investigators told us about a creepy spirit story that happened in her house but she was super chill about it...idk I feel like I would be a little bit more stressed haha. But that's what happens over here. You get closer to God and the bad stuff works harder.   

And last of all I saw that a less active was truly grateful for the missionaries that "rescued" her and her husband. Really there are a lot of people our there just waiting for the invitation to return. We should never give up on these lost sheep. They will come back,. We just need to act and look for them :)' 

That was a quick recap of my week! I hope you all have a great week! 

With all of my love,

Hermana Cross

 

Slip n Slide

Hello lovely people!

Another week come and gone. I can´t even believe it. the work of the Lord flies by. No joke. its dang awesome. I just want to be here forever haha. i actually love my area. Who knows why all the people before said it was bien chafita which means a big bummer deal haha. i saw some great things happening in our area this week. And some fun experiences :) there are always fun experiences to share haha

This week we had 2 intercambios. okay here's the thing folks. as sister trainer leaders, we really don't

have time. It's a struggle sometimes because all I want to do is read my scriptures but the hermanas need us more than my own selfish desires. But these intercambios were a blast! I was lucky enough to stay here in San Juan. for the first time without my companion. Well I was worried I wasn't going to know where the lessons were but i did! super success! on our first intercambio, it poured rain. and I mean it DUMPED rain. It's always fun because all the people say "you're going to get wet!" but its all good because the work of the Lord stops for nothing! but when we pulled over on our bikes to put all our scriptures in a bag, a dang car passed through a giant puddle and SPLAH! yep I got drenched from behind. wow it was something else haha. all I could do is laugh. in our other inercambio I as with a sister whose name is Hermana Cruz! MY LAST NAME IN SPANISH! i never thought he day would come when i would work with an Hermana Cruz she's newer and a little timid. and fun fact, she doesn't know how t ride a bike. our area is meant for bikes because everything is soooo far. but she was a trooper and wanted to bike. we made it almost to the end of the day on separate bikes but in the end, i carried her haha. man it is not easy biking up hills with a person on your pegs hahaha totally worth it though.

With my own companion, we had some good spiritual experiences. i really learned a lot form the spirit. I can honestly say that the bishop really does have the authority and power of god. the bishop went to  a lesson with us and man I just wanted to listen to him. It was the best. the spirit was so strong and it was a true reminder that the spirit is not something super loud or strong, but a feeling of peace and comfort that creates an atmosphere of learning and growing. it was awesome. also, this week we had new investigators in the church! We had 7 people there! A family of 4 and other individuals. guys i cant tell you how happy that makes me. A true miracle. Miracles are happening in San Juan.

And for he last fun experience, on Sunday we went to pass by for an investigator. i carried her on my bike again... but there was a ton of mud. she hopped off and WHAM! i fell. BUT I didn't get any mud on my skirt so that was a bonus. the entire time i thought " NOT MY SKIRT NOT MY SKIRT" and it was all good. just a little scratch on my hand and a sore shoulder but it was hilarious. that investigator will never forget her first Sunday hahaha

Well that was basically it! just remember the scripture

"cuando el espiritu llega al corazon, el corazon cambia"

or in English its something like this:

"when the spirit reaches the heart, the heart changes"

Love you all!!

Hermana Cross

The Right to Invite

Hello hello lovely people!

wow another week come and gone and to be honest again I don't remember a lot. i feel like every time I say that I end up writing a ton but I'm a little short on time today so I don't think it will be supery de duper long. this week we had our leadership council. that was super awesome! the first one I've ever been at. I felt like it was my first day of school when I moved to Utah but instead of feeling sad, I felt SUPER PUMPED! it was so cool seeing everyone and seeing a few old friends. Basically the council is the zone training we have the day after. It's like a training before the training. It's super spiritual. Like man you just know that we all have some serious work to do and the Lord trusts each and every one of us. it reminds us of who we are as missionaries and as leaders. President hits those points pretty strongly. it helps us know that we are more than just a missionary with a title.

Something that stood out to me in the council was actually something that wasn't planned. We were eating our delish sandwiches and I wandered over to talk to sis Egbert and pres Egbert. I was telling sister Egbert that Cassie was getting married (congrats Cass) and we talked a bit. She asked how I like San Juan. I could only saw "well...it's pretty!" she then encouraged president to tell me the story behind San Juan. it will be a quick summary. Way back when when president arrived, he had to close down a few areas. he asked everyone which one he should close and they all said San Juan. So he closed this area. Back then it was a branch. he promised the branch president that if they worked hard, they would become a ward, have missionaries again, and have success. (talk about a true promise of a representative of Christ!!). Any way, 8 months later, pres put Hermanas here in San Juan. they had baptisms 9 months straight!!! That is dang rare here! the branch became a ward and all is well. President then told me "So Hermana Cross, that is why you are in San Juan. Don't believe what others say about the area. it's all in their heads". BOOM!!! It hit me hard. i knew it was inspired. maybe it didn't hit my comp the same way but for me, it meant everything. LETS GOOO SAN JUAN! 

hmmm another highlight of the week. we had our first intercambios or divisions or idk what it's called in English. i was with an American. it was fun! i seriously feel so blessed to be in this position. I LOVE helping the sisters. More than that, they help ME! I am beyond grateful to do what the Lord has asked of me. I know there will be lots of blessings for the Hermanas and me in the future.

There have been a lot of people who have been inviting us to their church when we invite them. We have to gently tell them that we cant as missionaries. One lady was all worked up about it and sad "well I will listen to you if you come and pray to my virgin maria with me in the catholic church" LIKE WHOA!!! i think lots of people have forgotten the 2nd commandment. But it's chill...people have the right to invite. that's why we do it ALL THE TIME!! :)

Well that's a bit of what happened.! love you all!!!

Hermana Cross

Land of the Flies

hello hello!

Wow another week. Let me tell you, it's been a long one. But at the same time fast. Who knows! I sure don't haha. This week was good. Just starting to learn this little pueblo and figuring out the happs over here.

To begin, here are some details about San Juan. First of all, it is BLAZING HOT. oh man I

San Juan

thought I sweated a lot in the last area but man was I wrong. And there are more hills over here. what a blessing in disguise...well I have to see it that way haha. In the beginning of the week I didn’t even use my sheets as a blanket. And oh man when it rains, it rains HARD. Not only rains hard, but also the lightning touches down over here. I always just laugh because the situation is just funny. Two sister missionaries biking in pouring rain. okay maybe it sounds like "oh poor sisters!" but in reality it's crazy fun :) The flies, there are so many flies. Flies in the house. Flies in the stores. Flies in every lesson. Flies. Flies. Flies. AND they are flies that bite. Little boogers I just want them all to die or go bite someone else. My legs have a good solid amount of bug bites. it's because there are a ton of canals over here and it's heaven for all of the bugs. so it's a normal lesson if we are all swatting the air and slapping our legs and arms haha very reverent I know :)

Facts of living in a pueblo:
1. i crashed on my bike but didn’t have a single scratch because I didn’t fall on the ground.
2. I almost got bit my 2 giant dogs. It was dang scary
3.Sometimes your old ward has activities with your current ward and you get to see old members
4. One of the little puppies next door almost died from eating poison but the neighbors went into action mode and poured milk down the puppy’s throat and cut a piece of his tail off. sounds cruel BUT HE LIVES!!! 

There were some good moments this week. We are teaching some people but they all seem to have some sort of challenge. Some with marriage and their divorcement, others with their time and the politics that are happening. Yep here too they are crazy about their politics. We just want to help this little town grow and progress but satan is holding it down. We'll just have to work harder so they can all be baptized!

We met some new people and something that I learned is that Christian people know how to pray. They really look deep into their heart and pray with all of their energy and might. It helps me see where I need to improve. We pray all the time. Every morning. every study. every lesson. Every moment. Sometimes it's easy to forget that we need to pray with how we feel in that exact moment, instead of the usual day to day prayer. Also I have come to enjoy every moment we are biking. I think the blessing in disguise is that we see so many of God's beautiful creations. We met a less active and he said "i believe in God because everything is too perfect. Every part of us has a purpose. It's too perfect to just come out of nowhere" In that moment I thought of the hymn How Great Thou Art. It truly is a beautiful world. I know God lives because I live. During the week we talked with different people who dont believe they can be forgiven 100%. My heart breaks when I hear that. The atonement of Jesus Christ is infinite. He has suffered, bled and died for each and every one of us. it is possible to feel free from sin. Free from the weight of guilt. he wants to take our chains of heart ache and sorry. He is the way to true happiness. I know without a shadow of doubt that Jesus Christ lives. That he loves us. He is the only begotten of the Father. 

Have a great first week of June!!!
Hermana Cross

The district
San Juan
San juan
cool stuff that you can find

Face off!

San Juan

The District

Cool stuff you can find

The change keeps coming

Hello! 

Well this week we had cambios. and guess what? I'm in a new area with a new companion!...AGAIN! I cant believe I left Actopan 2 after 6 weeks. Definitely not enough time. Actopan 2 was a character builder more than anything. Before I go too much into heart touching detail about Actopan, I'll share with you the happs :) 

I'm in an area called San Juan Tepa. It's a pueblo. A very small town. When I told the members about

Hermana Mori and I

where I was going, oowee their faces said it all haha I'm just going to embrace it. I'm now a sister training leader. This means I will go on division or intercambios with other sisters. We have a a total of 6 companionships. So lots and lots of intercambios. I'm going to be honest here, I don't feel capable to be in such a position. I know there are a ton of other awesome sisters out there but I know God wants me to do this. It´s crazy what I've done in these past 8 months. I've been trained. I trained. I finished training and BAM here I am in my 3rd area. My new companion is Hermana Mori. She's from Peru. We had an intercambio once together so we'll see how this all plays out. Trusting in God is the key to success. 

We had a super awesome zone conference and the last one with president Egbert. i'm bummed guys. They are super great people. With us, they had us sign a commitment letter. A letter that has a list of things we will do after the mission. For example: read the scriptures and pray everyday. Keep the Sabbath day holy and ask for a calling immediately. Be a missionary everyday not just these months. And things like that. I really enjoyed it. i learned that many of those things I didn't do before the mission. I know now that I am going to be better at keeping the Sabbath day holy. Really put aside the world for one day. Oh man I just LOVE zone conference.

The rest of the week was just normal haha. Nothing new and exciting. One day we walked 40 minutes in the blazing hot sun to get to an appointment because we missed the bus and we were int he middle of no where haha. We have met some interesting people as well. An older lady that asked what virgin we come from. We tried to explain to her that Eve was the first mother or woman on earth so technically we come from her and eve from adam and adam from God but she just couldn't grasp the concept. She was just lost. you gotta feel bad for her. Even though we answered the question of her soul she didn't recognize it. What a shame really. 

The other sisters of Actopan had a baptism. it was really great. While he was changing into his dry clothes, we watched a Mormon message video. This video just penetrated my heart. it was about Christ and in that moment, an overwhelming feeling came over me that I know Christ is the savior of the world and that he lives! I know it. And it is a privilege to be a representative of him .

Okay now here's a little of the mushy gushy stuff. In Actopan, I really didn't like it in the beginning. I'm not lying. i didn't want to be there. I didn't see the potential. I was lost in my own selfish needs and desires. I wanted it my way and forgot the way of the Lord. As time went on, I came to realize that I needed to have a change of heart. I needed to love where I was and serve the people. here is a list of what I learned in Actopan 2: 

I learned.....

To love everyone even when not everyone feels the same way 

to be patient. With myself, my companion, the other missionaries, the ward and investigators 

to respect the agency of others 

to offer service. not only offer but also receive service because it is the way to feel the Christ like love of a person and strengthen your relationships

that biking and walking up lots of hills only gives you legs that looks like legs of a man 

the importance of being a member of the ward and not just as a missionary 

The list goes on and on but I know that the Lord has blessed me with many opportunities and I am beyond grateful for every area i'm in. Have a great week!! Love you all!! 

Hermana Cross

The Egberts :>

Her girls remind me of Despicable Me

Luis Diego is going to be baptized this Saturday

A kind sister from the ward

We have puppies for our neighbors!

Did I mention we have puppies for neighbors!

Our little house that doesn't actually have a bedroom

Alcoholics Anonymous

Wow another week has come and gone? How is this even possible? I can't believe we will be starting our 6th week in this cycle. Almost done with the 2nd half of training. Ahhhh the mission. So wonderful!

 

This week a lot of things happened. It's possible this email will be a little scattered but hang in there with me haha .

 

We are still on the search to find people who are ready to act and dedicate a little more of their time to the Lord. It's really interesting. People will tell us they want to learn more about God and they want to become closer with Him and then they turn their backs on the only true gospel. Sad isn't it? But it's all good, we will just keep pushing forward with faith! In the beginning of the week we had a lesson with an older man and when we were teaching him, he basically fell asleep. I looked at my companion and we almost started laughing. It was like talking to a wall. Poor man, he just wanted his nap. Sometimes the word of God soothes the soul....and creates the perfect nap atmosphere hahaha. We also visited a reference from a less active family. Wow. SUPER SHRINE. I have never seen so many Virgin de Guadalupe in my entire life. Like little pictures of her in all places. And like half of a table filled with shrines. He was like "LOOK! I have three bibles!!"....hahaha People make me laugh. 

 

The sun was killer this week. I got burned....again. I probably should but on some sunscreen. But I just sweat so much (sorry tmi) and it just doesn't do me any good. So I bought some magic cream...really don't know what...and it works! So I found the magic pain reliever. But even though it was super hot, It poured rain for 3 days. Hot then Cold. We were drenched. It's an adventure. It gives me a strike of energy. Enough that on Sunday we were basically running...okay yes we were running...to our house so we could arrive on time. Probably wasn't super safe but we made it! I sang "We are the champions" as we entered the house with 5 minutes to spare. 

 

We contacted a lot this week. One day we contacted 16 people....no one accepted but one contact told us that she felt the presence of God when we talked so that was enough for me! The people can recognize the difference and that just makes my heart happy. There are also people who don't want to accept. We taught an older lady in her little store,. When we finally got to the point of leaving a Book of Mormon she said to us "No. I don't want anything with the Mormons. I will read your pamphlet but I don't want your book." My heart broke. She denied the fullness of the gospel. When my companion said the closing prayer, I felt a feeling of peace and love. I knew the spirit was confirming to me that what I said and what we preach is true.I know without a doubt the Book of  Mormon is true. 

 

We were in the final countdown again one night and it was pouring rain. There's an Alcoholics Anonymous to the side of our apartment and they were having a party of some sort. They invited us in to eat a taco and I have never felt so awkward. I couldn't stop laughing because they were all just looking at us strangely. Just imagine, 2 young sister missionaries in an AA room. They probably thought we were going to convert them all. We also saw our investigator there (how awesome shes working on her problem) but she booked it right after she saw us haha. Turns our with her, we helped her know God...but helped her go back to her own church. It's all good. At least we helped her take the initial leap. 

 

Well to end this long email, yesterday we finally sat down with the other sisters and the bishopric to make a distinct line between our areas. It has only taken 5 week to get there but we finally have it settled. We can only hope and pray that we wont have anymore problems with areas. We just have to be patient. Work hard even when the day seems to be going down hill. "There are no hard areas. Only Hard missionaries" I think of that quote often to remind me that this is the Lords work and I need to be dedicated to Him and be willing to act according to his will. I don't think we will have cambios this upcoming cycle but who knows! Stay tuned!! I know this church is true and God will help us in every moment if we humble ourselves and ask for his help :) 

 

love you all!!

Hermana Cross

Trying to take a cute companion pic

Trying to take a cute companion pic 2

The District

We helped a cute sister make fabric roses for all the sisters for Mother's Day

The sisters of the district

Finally, a picture that turned out okay..hahaha

Seeing Old Friends

Hello hello!

Wow what a week. Lots of small things happened that end up making the week super great. Nothing jaw dropping or immensely powerful but let's be real,  the mission helps us realize that the blessings we receive are small and simple. They don't always jump out in front of us or scream in our faces "I'M YOUR BLESSING HELLO!!" God works in mysterious ways. He knows what we need and when we need it. 

This week I met some people who have unfortunately let Satan into their lives. They are people who you can see are hurting so much on the inside. it makes me feel sad to see these people suffering with pain and sorrow in their hearts. But at the same time I rejoice because I can help them understand the atonement, which will heal them more than they can understand. One man has problems with drugs...enough that he ended up buying some in the middle of the lesson. He left for a short moment, returned and showed us. At times like that I don't even know what to say. But little by little if he allows it, the gospel of Christ will bless him. The other sister, has the problem with alcohol. She has said her faith has died because of the bad things that have happened. We went and visited her again and hardly taught anything. And before I knew it, my companion not only invited her, but committed her to stop drinking. We didn't even teach the word of wisdom or anything as such. To my surprise, the sister accepted. She accepted the invitation to change. Change is the biggest miracle of them all. 

We all know that I've changed areas but we had intercambios again and I got to visit villas de pachuca. The area next to my old area. it was nice to be in Pachuca again. We were just walking along a street when suddenly I saw a member who is the husband of my recent convert Yolanda. We were catching up and so many things have changed. He was inactive before but now he has temple recommend and a calling as the mission leader! I was so dang happy. Then Yolanda exited the store she was in and when she saw me she said "OH CROSS!!! CROSS!!!!" We ran and hugged one another and she gave me a giant kiss on the cheek. I have an enormous love for her. A true blessing from the Lord. 

We have been searching a lot for new people and well little by little we will find the ones who are prepared. We cant rush through the work. We have to be patient and work as a team. We had more success in our numbers of the week. Although we didn't have any investigators at church, we had almost all of the recent converts at church and less actives. Another blessing of the Lord. 

I gave a talk in sacrament about the mothers of the 2000 stripling warriors. Even though there are only 2 verses about these incredible women, we know they were prepared spiritually and taught with certainty that the Lord can do all things if we do not doubt.   

I thought of the scripture this week that reads "wherefore, the things which are pleasing unto the world I do not write, but the things which are pleasing unto God and those who are not of the world" 1 Nephi 6:5

We can live in the world without being part of the world. We can follow examples of those in the scriptures and do the things that are pleasing unto God.  

The gospel of Christ changes lives. I am beyond grateful to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord and be a representative of Him. I love you all and thanks for everything!!!

Hermana Cross

Long bus to Pachuca

Intercambios......again

Hermana Haddock..WOOOO CCM Comp