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