La Tierra de los Ocasos

This week was good and FAST! I lot happened and, like always, I can't possibly share it all. But just so you know, Amanda's family is doing much better! We got in and talked to them the other day. They used to love us before Amanda's mom got on mormon.org and found a million things she hated, and I think she's just cooled down from that and loves us again. But she doesn't agree with us, not in the slightest. But still. I count the change as miraculous. Amanda has been hard to meet with, though. She's ALWAYS cancelling on us. But I think her heart's still in the right place so I think she'll be ok. 

We had a frustrating week numbers-wise. We've been working so hard and have basically nothing to show for it. But looking closely, our investigators really are doing well. We have a handful of solid investigators with real desires. And while they may not make all the decisions we wish they would, they are progressing. We just have to be patient.

Yesterday, for the 3rd week in a row, we had no investigators at church. We were super bummed until we saw Cristina and Hermana Trevino sitting in Sociedad de Socorro (Relief Society), completely unexpected! Hermana Trevino is a menos activo and Cristina is her friend we've been teaching (have I talked about her?). Cristina has firmly told us that she's not going to leave her family's tradition of Catholicism, but she has loved reading the Book of Mormon with Hermana Trevino. They're already in Jacob, after about a week and a half! She had told us she wouldn't come to church, but there she was! She's a sweet lady and I don't know when she'll be ready to be baptized, but I don't really doubt she'll get there.

Oh! By the way, I finished reading el Libro de Mormon! I've done everything to get my Spanish certification. Yay! It doesn't mean anything, but it still feels good. :) I think my Spanish is still getting better, even in this area. Sometimes I get really frustrated about being in a state-side mission. I want to learn Spanish really well, and I feel like I'm at such a disadvantage. But I'm not giving God nearly enough credit. The gift of tongues is real and I've seen it work in me. I wouldn't say I'm completely fluent (what does that even mean, anyway?) but I'm completely comfortable in a lesson in Spanish, I'm comfortable speaking, and I can usually understand. It's the conversations that don't have to do with the gospel that still get me, but even those are getting better. And the Latinos keep complimenting my Spanish, so that's a good sign, right? I've been studying hard and we try to speak Spanish together whenever we can/remember. I'm not too worried that I'll learn it. 

So on Wednesday we biked out to Cienegas for the first time. On the way home it started to rain...and rain and rain and rain! And what's even better, Hermana Ludeman got a flat tire! So we were huddled on the side of the road under a tree for probably about half and hour while we waited for the Elders to come pick us up, in the pouring rain with huge cracks of thunder. It was awesome! Haha we loved it so much. People kept pulling over to help us but we told them we had a ride. One lady even gave us an umbrella, but by that time we were already soaked. It was an adventure, that's for sure! The only bad part was that I had forgotten to take my Preach My Gospel out of my backpack after district meeting and it got pretty soaked. Eh. Oh well. The crinkly pages will always remind me of a great memory.

We had a training by our President in Eagle Pass on Saturday, and while we were driving over there I was looking at the huge Texas sky and just thinking about how awesome it is to be a missionary. We feel the Spirit ALL THE TIME. I was studying the Spirit the other day. It is what gives you power and boldness when you teach. It is what fills you with love and sanctifies your soul. It is the medium by which we change. And we feel it ALL THE TIME. I said when I left the MTC that if I had to go home right there I would still be a completely changed person. Now that's just a million times more true. Hopefully by the time I go home I'll be perfect! Haha, fat chance. But still. Even when you look at if from a completely selfish point of view, being a missionary is such a blessing. I can't explain how incredible it feels to be in a lesson and to literally feel the Spirit working through you, giving your words power and testifying of the things you say. It's the greatest feeling I've ever experienced. Yeah. Being a missionary is the greatest.

One more random thing. Texas has the MOST GORGEOUS sunsets, especially lately and especially here where there's not a lot obstructing the view. Seriously, it blows my mind every night. Mom, you would probably faint. The sky is ginormous and all lit up. I used to miss the mountains, but now I've fallen in love with how big the sky is here. I've taken a lot of pictures and if we get a chance to go to the computers that can send pictures I'll send you some. 

 Well, that about wraps it up. Oh! And I don't know if you tried to read the scriptures I recommended last week, but I made a mistake and wrote down the wrong reference. I meant Mormon 2:11-15 and Mosiah 24:8-16. so try it again.

I love you all and I pray for you tons! Have fun at the temple this week, Matt and Kevin! Que tengan una fantastica semana, y que les vaya bien!

Mucho amor,

Hermana Lund

Worth It

This week has had its ups and its downs. It started strong, dipped a bit in the middle, but finished strong. And man, did it go FAST! I can't believe how fast mission time is--only two-ish more weeks in this transfer!

We've been struggling a bit lately with investigators. We have a good number, but they just can't seem to make us a priority. We're hoping that once summer ends it will be a little easier. It's just frustrating to know that you have the most important message they will ever hear and have them cancel appointments 2 minutes before or even refuse to make an appointment at all! This last week we worked super hard to have members at all our lessons. Out of the million we planned, only 3 ended up happening. The most frustrating was on Friday. We had a lesson planned with Amanda and her husband Isaac at the church with a great member who would be an awesome friend with Amanda. We were so excited because it would mean that Amanda had the support of her husband and a friend, and that both of them could see the church and feel comfortable to come on Sunday. But seriously 2 minutes before Amanda told us through text that Isaac was at his sister's house and that he didn't really want to come anyway, and that she couldn't come because Isaac had the car, and that we couldn't come over there because her mom didn't want us to, and that we couldn't pick her up in Sister Worthen's car because her mom was suddenly asking her to do all sorts of things. Sigh. But we're still working really hard to get members, and we just have to have faith that God will make up the difference. 

Amanda didn't end up coming to church yesterday. I was pretty bummed. She was SO set on coming. But she's been sick and having trouble sleeping, so 9:00 church was just not going to happen, I guess. Her family isn't any more supportive, either. Her parents really don't like us. I don't really know what to do honestly, besides pray and keep trying.

But we did have some success this week, too. In Riverside we had something called "Milagro Saturday." Every week on Saturday our district would look for miracles on Saturday, and we always found them! I've been trying to bring it here, and Saturday proved that Milagro Saturday is alive and well. We saw miracle after miracle, including finding a lady who was taught but somehow forgotten and wants to be taught again, a bunch of other awesome lessons, and a lesson with a less active that most people have given up on that went really, really well. And as we were driving back home (we were in Cienegas) there was a GORGEOUS sunset over the wide, barren, Texas/Mexico wilderness. And the road we take back to town is called "Milagro." We took some awesome pictures with that sign and the sunset in the background, a perfect tribute to our day. It was awesome. :)

Lately I've really been able to see how much Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are a part of my life and the things I'm doing. They really are with me, every step of the way. They really are with all of us, whenever we'll let them. They really love me, they really love the people I'm serving, and they really love all of you, too.

So Grandma, you asked a couple questions I wanted to answer here. She asked me what the branches are like here. The English branch is largely made of young families where the husband either works for the border control or the air force base here. They only stay for a couple years and then leave. Anyway, the ward is FILLED with pregnant women and I think the branch president said we have 32 children under 2 years old. Yeah. It's crazy.

The Spanish branch is really small. We can't even fill the pews. They are really fun and love to have fiestas! We actually had a branch activity at the park on Saturday that I think ended up lasting literally all day. We went for a couple hours and had a lot of fun getting to know the members better. They're great. 

You also asked about P-day. We have had SO much fun on P-days this transfer! We hiked the "mountain" of Del Rio a couple weeks ago--It's really just a dirt-clump, if you ask me--, we've played volleyball and basketball, gone thrift shopping, and today we're going out to the dam--the border of Mexico and Texas! Next week we're going to go do a flight simulator with some members who work at the base. Yeah. We have fun. 

Well, I'd better go. I love you all! Do you need a new scripture? If so, read and compare Mormon 1:11-15 and Mosiah 24:8-16. Talk about how we have the ability to choose how we react to situations.

Love you all, have a great week!

Mucho amor,

Q&A with Grandma & Grandpa O

I'm so glad to hear you're having so much fun! Here's the answers to your questions:

Aunt Pat: Every day we deal with some kind of rejection, whether it be by someone whose door we just knocked or someone we've taught for a while and has decided to stop seeing us. The first kind is easy to deal with usually; I think God has blessed me to be able to just shrug it off and move on and not get too hurt or offended. The second kind is what's hard to deal with, when you have someone you love and care about who uses their agency to reject your message, often when they have received a witness it is true. That's rough. But whenever I leave lessons like that, when we realize we have to stop seeing someone and there's nothing else we can do, I've overcome with a feeling of peace. I know we've done our part and God is happy with our efforts. 

Megan: My favorite thing I've eaten would have to be pisole, a Mexican soup with pork, white corn, and really good spices. Carlos's (a boy who was baptized last June) aunt Olga would make it for us back in my last area and I LOVED it. We would put aguacates (avocados) in it and eat it with chips. SOOO good! I don't eat as much Mexican food here in Del Rio and I miss it!

Jalie: My companion, Hermana Ludeman, is always ready to improve and take advice. We've been pretty open about our feelings; we tell each other when there's something the other is doing that needs to change (Which is a VITAL part of a companionship, by the way). She's always willing to improve. She's passionate about missionary work and loves the people. She's great. 

Grandma: Hmmm, that's a hard one. I love teaching the Plan of Salvation, especially just talking about how much God loves us and how that love is demonstrated in his Plan. It's so great to see some people learn about it and just light up, as they realize their potential and the love God has for them.

Grandpa: We start personal study at 8:00. Companionship study starts at 9:00--if you're training you study for 2 hours and if you're not you study for just one (which is NEVER enough). Then we study Spanish for an hour, have lunch, and get to work! I love studying and it never seems like we have enough time.

Love you all! Have a great time together!

Hermana Lund

Just Talk to Everyone

Mi Familia!

This week--especially the past 2 days--has been incredible. I've seen miracles, both in investigators' lives and in mine. This past Saturday we had exchanges. The border zone Sister Training Leader, Hermana Isham (she lives in the same apartment with us, along with her companion Hermana Clark), came with me to our area--North Del Rio--and Hermana Ludeman went with Hermana Clark to the South. I don't know exactly what was special about that day, but I made it a goal to just talk to everyone the whole day of the exchange. I really struggle with contacting. I hate those seconds walking up to someone or waiting for the door to open when you have no idea what you're going to say or how the person is going to react. But, I decided that day that I was just going to do it.

And we did! Hermana Isham is super excited about knocking and contacting and she rubbed off on me. And I realized something. It isn't contacting that I hate, it's NOT contacting that I hate. I hate the guilty feeling I get when I pass by someone without talking to them. But on Saturday we literally talked to every person we feasibly could, and I loved it! We met some awesome people, bore solid testimony, and set up some lessons. I don't know, I was just being the kind of missionary I want to be and it felt so good.

So yesterday, not wanting to lose the new zest for missionary work I was feeling, I decided to talk to everyone again. We did, and guess what, I had the greatest day! I was so happy. It really is true, when you focus on other people and do your duty, you're happy. Who would've thunk. So this week I'm going to work extra hard to talk to everyone. Hopefully that will help me get out of the rut I've been in for the past couple months once and for all! Muahaha.

Also, on Saturday, we went to our Spanish area for my first time. It's kind of far away, especially for bikes, and we don't have any investigators out there right now so we haven't gotten there yet since I've been there. Del Rio is divided into subareas with their own names, which makes things easier to find. Our Spanish area is called Cienigas and it is SO COOL! It looks like a scene out of Chile or Argentina (which is really excited for us state-side missionaries). The roads are narrow and hilly, and the houses/trailers are small, old, and colorful. And, almost everyone speaks Spanish! Yay! We met some great people there and set up some lessons, so hopefully we'll be spending more time out there now.

Also, last Wednesday night one of our investigators who has been progressing pretty well, Amanda, texted us and said she didn't want us to come over any more. She said that she respected what we did but her mom didn't want us coming over any more and that she doubted she would ever change religions. We asked her if we could come by one more time the next day to talk to her face to face, and she said yes.

Amanda is amazing. She suffers from some pretty severe fibromialgia (don't judge my spelling) and consequently can't sleep at night. She got a blessing from the Elders a few weeks back that has helped a bit and really touched her. But her family is not supportive. She lives with her husband Isaac in her parents home with her mom, dad, and brother Matthew. They like and respect us, but don't like our church very much. It was apparent that they had been talking to her and somehow convinced her to stop seeing us. 

Anyway, we went by the next night to see what we could do. We had the lesson on her porch because her family was inside. We started out just talking and eventually started addressing questions she had. She asked about Adam and Eve, and that ended up leading into the Plan of Salvation. We taught her the whole thing and she knew it was true. I think it touched her to realize just how important she is to Heavenly Father, that He created such an incredible plan for her. It was amazing to see her light up as she learned about her potential as a daughter of God. The whole time I felt that surge of love where you have to hold back from leaping on them and hugging their guts out. I know that God loves Amanda so much. She is His daughter and He has a plan for her! I know she felt that, too.

She told us that she knows we were sent to her in a time when she needed it most. Since this lesson she has told us that before Hermanas Ludeman and Christensen came she was feeling lost and knew that she needed to come closer to God, and that she prayed to be able to. She recognized that we are her answer. She also told us that since we've been teaching her, her life has gotten harder, and that she knows that's because what she's learning is good and Satan is trying to keep it from her. 

It was such a powerful lesson, one of the most powerful ones I've had. We invited her to be baptized and she said she's working on it (that's what Robert said right before he started taking off, by the way). She wholeheartedly told us we could keep coming back and teaching her. We went back yesterday and had another powerful lesson, and we set a date for September 7. She is solid and I'm so grateful for the chance to teach her. Now we just need to soften up her family. We told her that salvation is a family matter and that we want to do all we can to help her family progress along with her. She said she would pray for their hearts to be softened. We definitely will be, too. It's just too common of an occurrence for a super strong person to get baptized and then fall away a few months later because they have not support system. I don't want that to happen here.

I love you all. I wouldn't say I'm homesick, but I've been missing you more lately than ever before on my mission. I love you and pray about you often. My scripture recommendation for you to read as a family this week is 3 Ne. 13:28-33. It seems like we shared this scripture a million times this week (probably because it's one of my favorites :)). What are ways you can seek the kingdom of God first?

Have a great week! Les amo mucho!

Hermana Lund

Seis Meces!

Mi Familia!

Can you believe it's been 6 months? After tomorrow I will officially not be a new missionary anymore. :) Although honestly, I haven't felt new for a long time. So much has happened and I've learned so much in the last 6 months, it's crazy. What does the next year have in store?

I still love Del Rio. It's completely different than Austin. Del Rio is honestly in the middle of nowhere. Most people who live here want to get out--there's tons of young couples where the husband is working border control or else is stationed at the air force base here. Everyone thinks it's small and ugly and hot. Which might be true but I think it's great. 

Del Rio isn't exactly rural, just small and quaint. Except when you go out towards Lake Amistad, that's rural. More abandoned, actually. I love it! Our area goes out there so usually when we have the car, on Tuesday or Saturday, we'll go out there. I love going out to the lake! It's so barren and the sky is HUGE! Haha, I have a few pictures of it out there, and if the computer will cooperate I'll send a few. 

We are seriously right on the border. There's a town in Mexico called Acuña just about 3 miles outside Del Rio where our investigators keep going for the day. It's frustrating. "Oh no, I can't, I'm going to Acuña," is a much too common phrase. Some people even work there but live in Del Rio. It's weird that we can't go. 

It has been HOT here. Seriously, it's like biking through a convection oven. A breeze does basically nothing. I definitely don't feel attractive when we go into lessons, but the people are nice enough to act like it doesn't bother them. :)

For some reason it's a lot harder to get lessons here than it was in Riverside. I guess a lot of it is just that there are more people in Austin. Plus the Hispanic culture, I guess. We're working hard though to change the area. We have 8 missionaries in this little town. Eight! The border was one of President Jones' special projects since it always seems to be struggling. Some of the missionaries here seem complacent with it, like there's not a lot of use in trying because nothing will ever change. I don't want to think like that! I want to change this area! 

We really don't teach a whole lot in Spanish. (Our one Spanish investigator actually told us this morning she doesn't want to meet with us anymore, but said we could come by tonight one more time. So we'l see what we can do.) I'm not too afraid of loosing my Spanish, though. We and the other sisters talk quite a bit to each other in Spanish, and I'm studying really hard. I know God will help me out. It has been weird adjusting the the culture change, though. We taught our first real, planned, whole 1st lesson on the Restoration this week to a young couple named Sean and Lauren. I felt so out of place! I kept wanting to speak Spanish--I'm pretty sure I did through a few words in, actually--, and I just felt...scared. White people are scary! Plus, I kind of just let Hermana Ludeman take it away because she has some different ways of teaching that I've never tried before and that I wanted to see. Anyway, it was totally out of my element. I felt like I had gone back to the first week in my mission again. It has definitely taken some getting used to, and I think it will take a while to feel comfortable. Also, I miss Mexican food. I want someone to feed us questionable "chicken," beans, rice, and tortillas! Haha. Although roast and mashed potatoes isn't anything to complain about.

Wow, this email is really scattered. Well, I just wanted to quickly share a little of what I have learned this week in my personal studies. I've been studying the Atonement really carefully for the past few weeks, and it has done wonders for my mission. Everything I've learned has been stuff I already knew, but just didn't understand. Like yesterday morning I was reading about the Atonement and how, because we are in a partnership with perfect Christ, we don't have to be perfect, we just have to try our hardest and put in our best effort. But what is our best effort? That's always been my problem, I never think I'm doing enough. Because technically I could always possibly be doing more. And that's why I go crazy sometimes, because I'm trying to do absolutely everything that's in my power. And that's not right. Anyway, I read that the way for us to know that what we're doing is acceptable to God is if we feel the Spirit in our lives. The Spirit is often referred to as an "earnest," or a down payment of sorts, in the scriptures. When we feel the Spirit, we know that our covenant or partnership with Christ is valid, that we're keeping our end. If we weren't, we wouldn't feel the Spirit. And it hit me. I AM feeling the Spirit! It guides me every day! I am doing my part! YAY! God knows where we are and his expectations are based on that. We should always be improving but we can't expect ourselves to be perfect all the time. Sometimes I feel scared to go out and work because I'm afraid of messing up. That's not how it should be. I will mess up. But as I wake up every morning with a determination to be better and do better, it will all be ok. Christ will fix my mistakes. And someday, very, very far from now, I will be perfect. But only because Christ has brought me there.

I know I'm not a perfect missionary. But I know I'm willing. I pray so hard every day that Heavenly Father will use me, that He will forgive me of my weaknesses that prevent me from doing more, but that He will find ways to use me to do His work. And really, a willing heart is all He asks for. As I've come to realize that and come to recognize my own willing heart, I have been able to see that God is proud of me. Which I really, really needed.

Ok, I promise I'm almost done. I wanted to start recommending scriptures for you to read as a family together. This week my recommendation is Alma 33-34. I read this this week as part of my Atonement study. It talks a lot about what we are expected to do, and what Christ gives us in return. Anyway, that's my recommendation. Haha, as missionaries we almost never talk to someone without extending an invitation, and it doesn't feel right to leave you without one! 

I love you all! Have a great week and enjoy the last bits of summer. 

Que tengan una buena semana! Les amo muchisimo!

Hermana Lund