Area #2

Mi Familia!

Thanks for the letters and pictures! I'm so glad you had fun in California! I'm jealous, especially of Six Flags! There's one of those here and I want to go so bad!

So I'm in Del Rio, a small town (although I think the biggest of the border towns) not too far from the Mexican border. I love it here! It's so quaint and cozy and the sky is so big! I'll have to email some pictures home. Down here there are 4 sets of missionaries: 2 of sisters and 2 of Elders. We all attend both the English and Spanish branches. One set of sisters and one set of Elders cover the north, and the others cover the south. Whoever happens to be in that area and whoever we find there, we teach. I'm in the north. As it turns out, almost all the Spanish-speakers are in the south, so I'm using English a lot more and Spanish a lot less. But that's ok. It's been kind of cool to have the change.

It is seriously so beautiful here. The north side is probably the nicer side of town. Most of the houses are small and cozy, but they're nice and kept up, at least for the most part. We went running last week through our cute neighborhood, with the must beautiful sunrise I've ever seen. I was in heaven! And part of our area goes way out to the lake, where there is just open land. It's really cool! I seriously love it here. Del Rio is awesome. 

We live in the safest part of town. Our apartment is really nice. Like, really nice. We even have a working dishwasher! We live with the South sisters, Hermana Isham and Hermana Clark, who came down from San Antonio with me. They are awesome and I have really loved living with other missionaries. Way better than living alone!

My companion is Hermana Ludeman. She's great! Actually, I'm replacing Hermana Christensen, my MTC companion. Weird, huh? Anyway, Hermana Christensen just finished training Hermana Ludeman and now is in San Antonio. I was able to see her for a second as I was coming and she was going. Anyway, Hermana Ludeman is great. She knows her stuff and she knows the area, which is so nice because I know nothing. She's kind of taken charge while I'm figuring it all out. I think we'll get along pretty well. Hermana Ludeman has already been such a good support to me, someone to talk to when I need it. I'm so grateful for that. 

Oh, and we're on bikes down here! Well, we share a car with the other sisters but since their area is farther away and they go to more dangerous places, we only end up getting the car on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and even on those days we'll be biking probably. I LOVE biking in Del Rio! When you get past the heat and tired muscles, it's so fun! I just love going through the cute neighborhoods and seeing all there is to see. It's a lot better than being cooped up in a car all day. Although I've only been here for 5 days. I might change my mind.

It is so hot here. Yesterday we found the tiniest lizard on the sidewalk outside our complex and stopped to take a picture. We soon realized that it was dead...completely fried on the cement. It was sad. We brought it inside and put it in the other sisters' room to scare them. Haha, he's still sitting on an Ensign on our kitchen table. I named him Frito.

I really love the people here. They're a lot more Texan than those I found in Austin. They've got their drawls and cowboy boots and antlers mounted to the wall. And they're so humble and good to us. I'll write more about specific people once I know them better. 

We had a fireside last night for the Spanish branch about how to use Preach My Gospel as members. Only 12 people showed up including the Branch President, but I think it went pretty well. It was fun to teach in Spanish. I am amazed at how much better my Spanish has gotten. And I don't say that to brag, it's a straight up miracle. We try to speak it to each other here and I'm going to keep studying hard. I want my Spanish to improve while I'm here even though it's mostly an English area. I'm not worried. (Haha, can you believe that?)

I think Del Rio is really calming me down. Especially because right now I'm kind of relying on Hermana Ludeman, I'm just not as worried about everything being perfect. I've decided that I'm way too hard on myself and I'm done being like that. I'm done! It's a horrible way to live. I've been studying the Atonement like nobody's business lately, just eating it up. I'm coming to realize that I really don't have to be perfect. And I mean, I've always known that but I think I've always interpreted doing "all you can do" as something that is honestly unreachable. I'm not expected to do absolutely literally everything i could possibly, conceivably do. I'm just expected to love the people, try to improve, and trust Jesus Christ. You're right Dad, it's not the external challenges that get me, it's the internal ones that I create. I make my life hard by multiplying the the things that are expected of me by 10.  But as I've been trying to calm down, I have been so much happier. I feel better about myself because every tiny mistake I make doesn't hit me with such a hard blow. I think this is something I'll always have to work on, but I'm getting better. It feels good. :)

phew. That was a scattered email. I feel like there is so much more to tell you! It will just have to come a little at a time. I love you all! Keep reading the Book of Mormon and praying. That's seriously all I would ask you to do. Do the little things and stay close to God. Because nothing is more important!

I love you all and so does God. Have a great week!

Hasta luego!

Hermana Lund

Pioneer Day Celebration (pre-transfer)

Pioneer Day

Del Rio

Del Rio

La Frontera!

Mi Familia,

California looks so fun! I wish we could be there with you, but I hope you're having tons of fun without us anyway! :)

Robert is baptized! I'm so happy for him! The baptism really didn't go as planned--Hermana Gonzales wasn't able to make it from work quite in time to give her talk (although Hermana Rodriguez stepped in and did a great job), the people who where supposed to say the prayers weren't there, I filled the font way  too low (an 8-year-old girl was baptized in the same service so I didn't know how high to do it...obviously I guessed wrong) and people kept coming in and out and opening and closing the door so much that I was about to loose it--but Robert is baptized and he is happy. :) He didn't care at all. And God is happy, too. Robert was baptized by Elder Ferry and confirmed by his companion Elder Peterson yesterday in church. He is so happy and not slowing down!

And we got transfer calls...I'm being transferred!! I'm going to the border! Wow. We both kind of thought something was going to change; I've found that missionaries kind of have a sixth sense about transfers. More often than not your hunches are right. Hermana Rodriguez is staying here and will receive her new companion. I'll be senior companion but I'm not training. I am so nervous! And excited! The border is everyone's dream here. It's supposed to be super fun and exciting and basically Mexico. Honestly it's probably a lot like Riverside, without the big city (and hopefully the traffic!). Although I think there's a lot less diversity down there..everyone is from Mexico while here there are people from Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, El Salvador..everywhere. 

I'm excited and really nervous. I didn't sleep at all last night. I don't know what to expect. I go down Wednesday early in the morning, which means I'm scrambling to get everything taken care of. I want to make sure everything is organized and well-planned so M'hija and her new companion can start out smoothly. Anyway, my mind is nowhere to be found. I can't focus on anything. I'm glad it's p-day. I need to work hard to focus on Riverside. I'm going to the border but I'm not there yet! I'm in Riverside for 2 more short days and I need to make the best of it!

I'll miss Riverside. It's been good to me. It has worn me out, that's for sure, but I'll definitely miss it. I'll miss our ward and investigators. But I'm excited to see what's waiting for me in my next area! Hopefully I'll go to a Spanish area but I'm not sure. My Spanish is definitely getting better. My ability to talk has skyrocketed but I'm still struggling to understand. But that has gotten better, too, I'll admit. Oh, and I passed the Spanish test! Have I told you about that? There's a really hard Spanish test that our mission has. You have to pass it, talk 500 hours of Spanish with your companion, and read the BoM in Spanish to become Spanish certified. Being Spanish certified isn't a requirement or anything, it's just something to work towards. Anyway, the test is really hard and I passed it on my second try! I've completed my hours and I'm planning on finishing the Book of Mormon by the end of next transfer. So anyway. That's exciting, I guess. :)

I love you all! Thank you for all your prayers and love. I'm praying for all of you! I know this church is true and I know God loves us. I've been studying the Atonement in depth lately and it is changing my mission. I know Christ is our Savior and the only way to true, lasting happiness.

Have a great week!

Mucho amor,

Hermana Lund

Camille and Robert

Camille and Robert

Camille, Robert, Hermana Rodriguez

Hma. Gonzalez (ward missionary) and Robert

Robert and Elder Ferry

Robert's baptism day -Camille, Elder Ferry, Robert, Hma Rodriguez

Jesus Es Mi Luz

Mi Familia!

This week has been pretty good. Slowly but surely I'm getting the hang of things. Robert is doing really well still! He'll be baptized this Saturday at 4:00. :) Every time we go to visit him I'm secretly nervous that he'll be drunk, but every time he just impresses me more. Our last lesson was at night on his day off. His days off used to be horrible for him because he wouldn't have a distraction from all his bad memories and he would just drink. But he told us that that morning he was going to the hospital by bus (he has pancreatic cancer, by the way, did I tell you that? I just found out a little while ago.) and he wasn't sure exactly what stop to get off at. He was pretty nervous about it. But he said a prayer for help and the bus took him right there. Then he told us that he came home and read his Book of Mormon and just had a good, easy day. :) He tells us that he prays all the time, just while he's walking down the street. And yesterday we happened to see him when he was walking home from the bus stop, Book of Mormon in hand. It was such a sweet image: the Book of Mormon replacing the beer bottle that used to be there. Ah! I love him so much! It makes me so happy to see him so happy. He's rock solid.

We also are planning the baptism of Isaac Gutierrez, a 12-year-old boy who comes from a less-active family and was never baptized. He got the lessons from other sisters but was never baptized because the bishop wanted his dad to read a little bit from the pamphlets with him first and he never did. But the bishop has given the green light and we're just going to review a few things and then he'll be baptized, probably August 3. So that's exciting! But with Isaac, the real work is going to have to be done after he is baptized. His parents are coming back (they're divorced which makes things a little more complicated, but they're both in our ward) but we need to make sure they stay active. And we need to make sure Isaac gets really involved in Young Mens and has good ties there. We don't want him to fall away.

Carlos is doing well, too. He got the priesthood last week. He's been coming to church every week that he can and he seems to still have a strong testimony. We visit him about once a week to teach him the new member lessons and his aunt and uncle have are having us over for dinner every Sunday this month (yesterday we had posole verde..my FAVORITE!), so that's good that we get to see him.

We get transfer calls this Sunday! Wow, that was fast. I mean slow. I don't know, actually, this transfer was weird. I learned so much, I seriously feel like a different person. My faith, hope, and understanding of the Atonement has exploded. I still have so much farther to go, but I have faith that God will always be with me and help me. Now I just need to figure out how to handle stress. Sigh. I'm so bad at that! And it makes life really, really hard. But I'm figuring it out, I think. 

I know that God loves us. I know this church is true. I know Jesus Christ is our Savior, our light and our support. I know families are eternal. I know the Book of Mormon is true. I know the God wants us to be happy and he wants to bless us. I know that prayer is ALWAYS the answer. He loves us and He is listening. 

Love you all! Have a fantastic week, and to my immediate family, have a great time in California! Bring your scriptures with you and DON'T FORGET TO PRAY! I'm praying for all of you. 

Mucho amor,

Hermana Lund

Camille and Hermana Rodriguez with Isaac

Family Home Evening!

Camille and a member whose family often feeds them

Plaque with a spiritual saying by the front door -very common and helpful in finding Spanish speakers

Exciting thrift store purchase -nightgown!

5 Months!

Mi Familia!

Can you believe I've already been gone for 5 months?! Man, the time goes fast. And this transfer is already half over. Mission time is crazy. It really doesn't make any sense. 

Things are looking up. Spanish is easier (to speak, at least...one day I'll understand) and M'hija and I are getting closer. Today has been especially good. I got an awesome package (Thanks, Mom and Young Women!) and later today we have lunch with the other Elders and some members, and we're going to have a Sisters' day with the other Sisters in our zone...shopping and painting our nails and all that fun stuff. :) And it's not hot today! It's been raining! It smells and feels so good outside. :)

We met the mission president on Thursday. He's amazing! Seriously, he just knows what he's doing and is ready to go. I'm so excited to have him here and to work with him. His wife is great, too. She served a mission in Taiwan 25 or so years ago. They have 3 teenage kids here with them and another son in college in California. 

Robert is still doing really well. We had to move his date to the 20th because he absolutely can't get work off this weekend, which makes me a little nervous but I know he'll be ok. He met our bishop yesterday and afterwards the bishop told us congratulations and that "he's ready." Yeah, he is! More ready than anyone I've ever met. Seriously, this whole thing with Robert is an absolute miracle. He is a completely changed person. He is happy and confident and doesn't even have the urge to drink. His testimony is rock-solid. He really just let the Atonement into his life, let it change him. I love him so much and I'm so happy for him.

We have a ton of progressing investigators right now, but Robert is the only one with a date. We're trying hard to set some dates with the other ones but they're just not there yet. Jose and Erika are probably the closest. Remember them? They're the ones who are totally ready to be baptized and want to really badly, but can't because they're living together and aren't married. Yeah, we're still teaching them. We had dinner with them yesterday and we talked to them about the importance of setting goals. We told them that God has a date in mind for them...they just need to ask Him what it is. We said that when they have the faith to set a date, God will help everything work out so they can achieve it. They said they will. I hope they do. They are so, so, so ready to be baptized. They just need to ACT. 

Anyway, I'm doing well. I'm still struggling a bit but I think I'm starting to figure out how to get out of the way of my own happiness. I think one of the biggest things that has made this transfer difficult is that I've just come to the realization that life really is hard. I realized that I'm going to have more hard times like this on my mission and more hard times like this..and worse.. throughout my life. It kind of sucked the hope right out of me. Sometimes I'm afraid of being unhappy. But that isn't something to worry about. Good times will always come and there's beauty in every day. I just need to get better at opening my eyes to it. 

This week I'm going to try harder to think about Christ throughout the day. I don't think about Him enough. I'm also going to seriously focus on the people around me and their happiness, especially Hermana Rodriguez. I won't worry about how long this hard time is going to last or when another one is going to come. God loves me and He'll take care of me. He already has. :)

President Slaughter asked that, before we leave for the day, we kneel to pray and stand to testify. That just means that we say a kneeling, meaningful prayer (as opposed to the rushed ones with all our stuff in our hands standing right in front of our door) and then stand up and bear our testimony to each other. This has helped me so much the past few days, especially the testifying part. It has helped me to remember the simple things that I know: that God loves us, that this is His work, that He will send angels to help us, that the church is restored, the Book of Mormon is true, that we have a living prophet today, and that Christ is our savior. I know these things are true. Nothing will ever shake me of that. 

I love you all! Have a great week and do great things!

The things they find on people's porches

Hermana Gonzalez sitting on the throne

This looks a little more comfortable

Camille and Hermana Rodriguez

"Nopales" -they eat these

Hermana Rodriguez and Hermana Gonzalez (ward missionary)

Mucho amor,

Hermana Lund

Deep in Texas, Deep in the Heat!

Mi Familia!

How was your week? Are you enjoying summer? Can you believe it's already July? What are your plans for the 4th of July? I get to meet our new mission president and his wife that day at a zone conference! I'm really excited. They seem great. They also have some daughters here, I think. It's so weird the President and Sister Jones are gone, but I'm sure the Slaughters are going to be great.

This week was better! I'm starting to figure out what actually is expected of me. I've always had a problem with that. I have a hard time finding the balance between pushing myself and being diligent, and killing myself and being stupid. I'm getting there though.

Robert is doing great!! He got a blessing on Friday from the Elders on Friday to stop drinking, but even before that he hadn't had a drink in about 5 days. He has completely changed. He is so happy and confident now. He keeps telling us about how all his friends and coworkers keep commenting on how different he is; when he got home from church on Sunday in his shirt and tie his friends who were over at his house teased him and called him "the pastor." He loves it. He can really see how the gospel is changing his life. He's solid as a rock and it makes me so happy. He's still solid for the 13th. Which means I'm stressing out about planning another baptism. But I'll take that kind of stress. ;)

My Spanish is getting better. I can definitely see improvement. It's a lot easier to speak and I can understand a lot better. I still struggle sometimes though. I figure I've got to be to about level 300 in the Spanish-learning process. The problem is, I don't have any idea how many levels there are. Probably a million. I keep thinking I'm breaking through and then I realize I actually have no idea what I'm doing. Haha. Eventually, right?

Our area is doing so well. We have over 20 investigators, 9 of which are progressing. We had 4 investigators at church yesterday. That is so unheard of, and it's a miracle far beyond ourselves, that's for sure. But to be completely honest, I'm still not very happy.I'm not enjoying my mission like I should be. Why not? I read Scott's letters about how he's finding so much joy in missionary work even as he's struggling to find people to teach. And here am I, with all a missionary could ask for, and I'm not enjoying it. Why not?

I kind of know why, actually. I'm completely focused on myself. I'm sick of walking around in 1000000 degree heat, talking to people who don't want to talk to me. I'm sick of teaching first lessons that don't go anywhere. I'm sick of planning lessons that don't end up happening and I'm sick of struggling to find members to come with us. And I can't stop thinking about how good things were last transfer and wishing it back. So many good things are happening, but for some reason they just aren't enough to overcome the bad things. 

Sigh. What should I do? Really, what should I do? I'm trying and praying my hardest to stop thinking about myself and to just love Hermana Rodriguez. To love the people here, even if all I'm doing is bringing them one centimeter closer to Christ. I really think that's the only answer: I have to forget myself. I have to focus on others and love them will all my heart. But for some reason I've just really struggled with that. 

But I have determined that this transfer is going to be a good one. I don't want to just push through it and get it over with and pretend it never happened. I want it to be good! I want to look back on it and smile! I know it can be. I just need to fight to love, fight to be positive, and pray pray pray.

Anyway, that's what's in my heart right now. I figured I might as well just be honest. I'm going through a serious internal battle right now. But I know I'll come out on top. I've already seen some serious improvement. I have such stronger faith and hope than I did 3 weeks ago. Now I'm working on the charity. :)

Well, I love you all. Sorry you had to listen to some less-inspiring words this week. Keep praying and reading your scriptures (are you doing that as a family?). Go to church and have FHE. Do the little things so you will be strong enough to do the big things. Remember that God loves you and has a plan for you, every day.

Have a great week, and Happy 4th!

Mucho amor,

Hermana Lund