Pensaste Orar?

Mi Familia,

How's everyone's summer going? I can't believe Matt and Kevin are out of school! FUN! The kids here have a good week or two left. The have the worst school schedule; high school at 9:00 and end at like 4:30. Rough, huh?

I. Am. BIEN cansada. We had the busiest week...we taught 30 lessons! I don't really know how since so many appointments fell through, but somehow 30 times people were willing to listen to us. And we're not planning on slowing down! :)

Carlos is still doing really well. Every time we teach him he has a stronger testimony and his prayers are even more solid. Last lesson he expressed concerns about messing up after baptism. He is aware of the temptations he'll face in high school and stuff. And he doesn't want to mess up. We assured him that, through the gift of the Holy Ghost, he will have the strength to resist those things, and reminded him that he can always repent. We just need to teach him a couple more of the commandments and that's it. Neither or us really know what we're doing...we've never gotten this far. Neither of us have planned a bautismo (there you go, Grandma, that's how you say "baptism.") before. But I think we'll be able to figure it all out. 

Fabiola is nowhere to be found. I am so confused and sad about it! We have not been able to get a hold of her since our first lesson. But we are sure she meant everything she said! It's just pena, stupid pena. I HATE pena!

Robert is doing really, really well. We don't have a date with him but he's planning on getting baptised. He just needs to quit drinking. He wants so badly to be baptised, though. When we asked him how he feels from the things we've taught and the things he's read (he ate up the pamphlets we gave him and he's read several chapters from the Book of Mormon) he said he feels like it's "cleansing him inside." BEAUTIFUL! Exactly what a missionary wants to hear. Seriously, I have to refrain from hugging him whenever I'm around him. He is so sweet and so humble and in such need of the gospel. I'm so blessed to be a part of all this. 

And yes, we did get stuck in the middle of all the tronadas! It was AWESOME! It rained cats and dogs for 2 days straight. The streets were all flooded but not too badly that we couldn't drive. And we're all alive so that's good. There was some major thunder though. I heard the loudest crack of thunder I've ever heard in my life on Friday and Hermana King even saw the bolt. It was scary but so, so AWESOME! I LOVE Texas thunderstorms!! 

Well, I've got to go. The church is true. God loves you. Prayer is the greatest use of time. Les amo muchisimo! Lean el Libro de Mormon y oren a menudo. Y que tengan una buena semana!

Hasta luego, caio dude! (That's for you, Dad)

Hermana Lund

Pon Su Hombro a la Lid

Mi Familia!

Que tal? Como les ha ido? Thanks for all the emails! I was thinking about the Ogden Marathon this week. It really rained? It never rains for that! It's because I wasn't there. No, that can't be right because the Logan Marathon gave me no such preference. 

So. This week was good! We have some really solid progressing investigators and it's so great to see the gospel change their lives. We set a date with Carlos Escobar...June 8th!! He is sooo amazing. He's already thinking about a mission and he prayed to maybe someday become a bishop. :) He really wants to change and follow the gospel. He reads and prays about the Book of Mormon, he goes to church, and he goes to mutual. He is seriously such a good kid. I'm SO happy for him.

And on Wednesday we had a lesson with Fabiola. Fabiola is a former investigator whose records we found in our area book. She was taught a couple times last June but her schedule was crazy and the missionaries couldn't keep visiting her. We had planned an appointment with her last week but she wasn't there. But we decided to stop by again anyway. She was there, and she told us that she wasn't at the appointment because she had to take her daughter to the hospital for her broken arm and she didn't call us because she had pena (stupid pena). 

Anyway, we taught her the Restoration and she understood everything. She was basically teaching us. Then when we invited her to be baptized she said "Si" without any hesitation. We were kind of taken aback and asked again. She said, "Si, yo queria." So we set a date! June 15! She said she's been looking at a lot of different churches and this is the only one that "fills her heart with light." How great is that?! We haven't seen her since then though and we just pray that she feels the same way when we see her again. The only problem is that she works 12 hour shifts on Sunday (she's a single mom), but she told us that she's going to pray about it and that she knows anything is possible with God. 

Also, we've run into 9 menos activos that we didn't even know existed just since the transfer began! 9! They just spring up out of nowhere. We find them while we're tocanding (that's Spanglish for knocking...just a heads up, I'm probably going to use that word a lot) or walking around our complex or living with other menos activos in our ward. We're praying to know what to do with them, especially the ones that don't have any ties to the ward already. 

And we had 9 menos activos at church yesterday! It was nuts! All these people just came! Most of them we've visited recently but some we haven't seen for a while. But God works with people while the missionaries are away. I have such a strong testimony of that. Honestly, that's when the real work is done.

We have been working SOOOOO hard. And Heavenly Father has been giving us things to do! I love Hermana King. She's so passionate and driven. She sincerely cares about these people and wants to do God's work. It's been great. Exhausting--absolutely exhausting--but great. 

And it's finally hot. Probably not Mexico hot (actually, I'm sure it's not that hot) but hot. Hot enough to make you fall asleep standing up. Welcome to Texas!

I love you all! Have a great last week of school and first week of summer! Read the Book of Mormon and have FHE. And don't forget to pray! 

Mucho mucho muchisimo amor,

Hermana Lund

Pictures from Texas

Mi Familia!

It was SOOOO good to talk to you yesterday! Really, I just feel so pumped and ready to go. I wish we could have had more time because there is so much I wanted to tell you and ask you that I couldn't. 

I'm glad to hear Scott's doing well. Wow, a Mexican companion? That will be good. I feel like my Spanish has been struggling lately. I think a lot of it is that I psych myself out. I've never been good under pressure and I think when someone is talking, especially when they're talking directly to me, I kind of believe that I'm not going to understand them and then I don't. I'm working on it. When I am able to just forget about it and get involved in the conversation, I'm amazed at how much I can understand and contribute.

We taught Carlos last night. He is so SOLID! We taught him about following the prophet, tithing, and fasting. He asked a ton of great questions; he really wants to understand all this for himself. And even though we told him he doesn't have to pay tithing until after he's baptized, he filled out a form to pay for $60 he received last week. He even added on a few dollars! 

Carlos wants to get baptized, but he's nervous. He said he thinks he'll feel ready sometime in the summer. He's going to pray about it. I think he understands that baptism is a blessing and he wants to do it as soon as possible, he just needs to kind of wrap his mind around all of it. But I have NO doubt he'll get baptized. I would be sad if it wasn't until I left this area, but as long as he gets baptized I'll be happy.

This week was a little rough; I just didn't feel much of a desire to be doing this. When you're focused on yourself, missionary work really isn't fun. You wake up every day at 6:30, study for 3 or 4 hours, go out to talk to complete strangers about your church, and teach lessons in a language you don't really feel like struggling through. Then you get home just EXHAUSTED every single day, even though it doesn't make any sense because you were in the car all day, and you have to fill out all the teaching records and potentials and call members for tomorrow and no one ever answers and it's impossible to understand Spanish on our phone...

But I've had so many experiences where I have been overcome with love for these people. People like Carlos and Robert and Abacu really need the gospel right now. When I feel love for the people I teach, everything is worth it. In these moments, missionary work is the greatest! Seriously, the greatest. I'm working on making these feelings last.

Anyway, I'd better go. The Elder's are waiting to write. But let me give you a consejo. Find a Taqueria--you shouldn't have any problem in Ogden--and eat some really Mexican food, k? Get some good tacos and don't forget the horchata. You won't regret it.

I love you all. I know this is true with all that I am. It's such a great feeling to testify of this gospel and KNOW in that moment that what I'm saying is true. I know God has a plan for each of us. He loves all of you and wants to help you. Just pray to Him and He'll help you out. 

Mucho amor a todos! Tengan una buenisima semana y disfruten comida Mexicana, ok?

Hermana Lund

        

 There have been lots of rainstorms this spring

 Joining in a Guadalupe school dance practice

Three soaked hermanas after dancing in the rain

 Don't ask

 The ever-present drink, Tampico, after being stuffed way-too-full again by a member

 Helping with a youth car wash

P-day in Austin

 Saying goodbye to Hermana Hearne

 With Hermana Hearne's new companion, fresh from the MTC

 Visiting a monestery

 P-day in Austin, too, I think

Mother's Day call home

Feliz como un Dumbriz!

Mi Familia!

Hermana King and I are doing well! We're really nervous and really excited. We're coming to realize how little we know about missionary work. But we've been completely fine so far. Hermana King's Spanish is really good and mine is getting a lot better. I can almost always understand as long as I focus. 

Both of us are super passionate and just ready to get stuff done. It's really exciting!! We have so many ideas and we're just going with them. We're working hard to use our time effectively and plan well. And we just straight up work hard. We're exhausted every day. It feels good. I love, love, love having Hermana King as my companion. I don't think we'd naturally be friends at home, but we are already so close just because we're so passionate about this work. I seriously love her.

Over the last few days as we've begun the transfer, both of us have felt like the time has come to take the focus off of rcla's. We've visited just about every one of them and we've been visiting many of them like they're investigators. And we'll still visit a couple of them consistently--like Cristina and Adela Martinez--but it's time to find some more investigators and put our focus there. We're hoping to get more help from the ward for the rcla's (which is really how it should be; our ward just struggles). I feel really good about our decision.

Today I want to tell you about Abacu. Abacu is great. Seriously great. He's this grumpy old man who we met when we were trying to find a menos activo who lives next door to him. We talked for a little and invited him to church, and he came! (Have I already told you about him?) Anyway, he's come to church 3 times, which is the amount that's required before baptism. But he is SO HARD TO TEACH! You see, Abacu just got divorced and is now living with his son and his family. It's been hard on his ego. He doesn't seem to like being taught by young girls. Whenever we teach him something he seems to feel like he has to teach us something. Like a couple of days ago when we taught him el plan de salvacion. (Yeah, we're still only on lesson 2). Oh my. That was a struggle. Every time we'd say anything he'd just through out a random fact about Adam and Eve or something. He just talks right over us. It's been hard to establish authority as two young girls.

But he loves us. He told us he would rather be with us than at a fiesta. :) (We tried to tell him that was because of the Spirit but, you know.) I'm not worried about him but I'm frustrated. We both are! Dad, I wanted to ask you if you had any advice. Did you ever teach anyone like Abacu? I think we're just going to have to take it slow with him. Hopefully when he sees that this is really something he wants to hear about he'll let us tell him.

I seriously love him, though. I love making him smile. Hermana and I love to just act goofy around him and make him crack. He love us.

All in all this first week of transfer 2 has been really good. We've met some great people and already seen miracles. This morning I got pretty overwhelmed because of my complete inadequacy as a teacher. But Hermana was right there to remind me that this is not about me or my abilities. I know it's not. It's hard to remember sometimes but I know. We really, really can't do anything on our own. That's for sure. But we're not alone. Over the past 3 months (exactly!) I've come to recognize that God will be as much a part of our lives as we'll let Him be. I know He has a plan for all of His children, not just His missionaries. He wants to lead and guide us. He wants us to be happy and He wants us back with Him. I know that! I just want to shout it! I know that all His commandments are solely to make us happy; to help us qualify for the happiest blessing of all: eternal life. 

I love Heavenly Father and I love Jesus Christ. It's overwhelming, sometimes! It's the greatest feeling. I love being a missionary. I know this gospel is the only thing that matters. Anything we do that's not in harmony with it is not worth doing. It's as simple as that.

Les amo muchisimo! Estoy animada para hablarnos este domingo. Siempre ustedes estan en mis oraciones. Me encanta la obra misional! Que tengan una semana bien fantastica!

Mucho amor,

Hermana Lund

 Camille and her companions with the ward mission leader

Camille with the ward missionary