Disfruta los momentos pequenos

Mi Familia!

This week has been good. Which is weird because I had an all-time record low of lessons. It was kind of rough sometimes, and we've dropped a few people/haven't seen them in a long time. But there were some great moments, too. Like with Marilyn and Jerry. I LOVE Marilyn and Jerry. Every once in a while an investigator will become my favorite person in the world. I remember it happened with Robert, and now it's happened with Marilyn and Jerry. We had a lesson with them where we discussed more of the Book of Mormon. Jerry has been reading 4 or 5 pages every day and Marilyn has been trying to read when she can. Jerry even read a little to Marilyn. They talk about us and our message when we're not there, too. It's so nice to teach someone who doesn't forget about you the minute you walk out the door. They still have serious doubts--they flat out told us they could never believe the Mormon church is the only one with authority--but they are open, receptive, and hungry to learn. They're reading the Book of Mormon truly seeking to find out whether or not it's true. They just don't know what happens to people who find out the book is true. ;) I hope they get baptized while I'm here. But even if they don't, I'm positive I'll see them in the Celestial Kingdom, which makes me smile.

I really wish y'all could meet them. They are SO awesome and they crack me up. I can't even explain it. Jerry is such a hillbilly and Marilyn is the sweetest little southern lady you'll ever meet. And their house is so cute and quaint, and it always smells like yummy candles. She's going to teach us how to make pecan pie with us on my birthday! I can't wait! And Jerry told us we're like family and we're welcome any time. They call us "the girls," which I don't know why I love so much.

My other favorite people in the world are Eloy and Rosie Vasquez. They're Seth's grandparents. They're kind of in the same boat. They're Methodist, not Baptist, but like Marilyn and Jerry they're very active in their church and feel comfortable. But they're also humble and ready to learn. They're been reading the Book of Mormon too, though not nearly as much as Marilyn and Jerry. We watched the first half of The Testaments with them in an attempt to help them connect the Bible, which they're already thoroughly familiar with, to the Book of Mormon. You should have seen them watching it. They were completely enthralled. When I paused it, they gasped and said, "Was that part 1?" They eagerly set another appointment (for tonight) to see the rest. Rosie said in awe that she never knew anything about the Mormon church before and in her prayer thanked Heavenly Father for sending us to open their eyes and help them learn. YES. They're another couple that I'm not sure if I'll personally see baptized, but I'll definitely see them in the Celestial Kingdom. And how great shall be your joy! :)

Also, we gave Rosie a copy of the Friend earlier that day when we just dropped by. By the time we came by that evening, she had already looked through it all and chosen something to use to teacher her kids at church the next day. She says that she often uses the things we teach them to teach her kids. So without even knowing it, those kids are being taught, too!

Hermana Montgomery's doing much better on the bikes. We still go slowly but not nearly as slowly, and we don't walk nearly as much. I'm so proud of her.

I'm excited for this week. 2 birthdays, Halloween (I'm going to "dress up" as Hna. Clark and wear her name tag), and sleep-in day (daylight savings) on Sunday! It's going to be good.

Love you all! Have a tremendous week!

Hermana Lund

Nueva Companera!

Mi Familia,

Transfers were this week. Hermana Ludeman went up to Austin and my new companion is Hermana Montgomery! I adore her. We came into the field together, actually, but we were in different zones and didn't meet until the day we left the MTC. We've talked a little before at zone conferences, but we didn't know each other more than that. And Hermana Pond is Hermana Clark's companion. She came in with us, too, so in a couple weeks we'll all be celebrating the 9-month mark together! Also, Hermana Montgomery's birthday is 3 days before mine. So we've got some exciting celebrations planned for the next couple weeks! :) Sorry, I haven't taken any pictures, but I'll try to send some home next week.

This week has been stressful for me just because change stresses me out (like just about everything else in missionary life) and it's always hard to adjust to a new companion, even if you love her. It's also hard for me to be the only one who knows anything about the area. But I really love Hermana Montgomery and I'm excited to work with her. She has only served in English areas before this and is excited to be on the border, even if our area is predominately English. She has SO much to bring to the area, especially when it comes to working with members. I'm excited to see the changes in the area that I know she'll bring. She's super driven and passionate about the work and she already loves everyone here. Haha, I don't mean for this to sound prideful, but I feel like Heavenly Father has put 2 of his hardest-working, most determined missionaries in the same area. Serious work is going to get done! :)

Hermana Montgomery and I are alike in so many ways. We think and feel the same way about a lot of things, and we struggle with the same kind of things. (We're both stressers, which I hope will be a good thing rather than a bad thing since we can support and understand each other.) We really get along and we stay up talking every night. ;) The only struggle we've had is that Hermana Mo gets anxiety and motion-sickness from riding bikes. Which is a pretty big problem here. She tries her best, but we've been walking quite a bit. It has turned out ok though; on Friday when we walked a ton we still ended up having 4 lessons. Heavenly Father is making it possible for us to do His work. He always provides a way. Anyway, I'm praying a lot for her and trying to be patient and understanding with it all. She got a blessing on Saturday so I hope she starts feeling better. 

There was a baptism on Saturday for 2 of the Elders' investigators. Only, one of them didn't show up. His name is Noel. He recently moved here from the Philippines where he had already taking the lessons. He's super solid but his wife is super anti. We're guessing that's were the problem was. But the baptism still happened for the other man. I accompanied one of the other Elders for a musical number. It went ok, especially considering I only got the music 2 days before and didn't get very much time to practice. Also, since Hna. Isham is gone, I'm not the only missionary who can/will play in church. The English branch is ok without me but the Spanish branch expects me to be in Sunday School, Relief Society, and Sacrament to play. Kind of annoying, but I'm still grateful for the opportunity. 

I've been happy. But I'm still struggling with the same things I've been struggling with for 4 months. I still feel homesick (not terribly, don't freak out) and I often feel stressed and overwhelmed. That is the thing I dislike about myself the most: how hard it is for me to stay calm and keep my stress in check. It's so miserable. I just get so anxious and worried and can't seem to control it. It's something I'm trying so hard to change. It's just not Christlike. It's not who I want to be and I know it's not who Heavenly Father wants me to be. It stems from great attributes that I love about myself like determination, obedience, and self-motivation, but I need to learn how to stay calm and have patience & faith. It's just discouraging because I've been struggling with it for so long. I hate that I often long to go home where there's not so much pressure. I've looked forward to my mission for as long as I can remember, and it bothers me that I struggle with desire out here. 

But I have seen progress in myself. I know I'm better at handling stress, even if it doesn't seem like it sometimes. I love people more, I love my Savior more, and I have more hope and faith that I have tremendous joy to look forward to on my mission. I'm at least a little bit better at seeing the beauty in the moment, in slowing down and taking it a day at a time. And I know without a doubt that Heavenly Father is proud of me, the work I've done, and who I'm becoming. I just miss you all a lot sometimes.

Don't worry about me too much, though. I'm figuring it out. Heavenly Father always gives me my daily bread. I have no doubt that good things are to come on my mission.  I'm so grateful for my mission, for the chance I have to learn and be so involved in God's work. And I LOVE this area. Just in the last couple days I've had several moments where I was filled with love for the people here, members and non-members. I love them! I love learning about them and serving them. There are several people I plan to come visit after the mission. What a blessing!

Phew! Long e-mail. I'll let you go now. I love you all and hope you have an incredible week!

Mucho carino,

Hermana Lund

P.S. President told me my Spanish is phenomenal! Yay!! :)

El octubre de las hojas verdes

Mi Familia,

Another good, fast week...and transfer! I'm staying and Hermana Ludeman is leaving. Kind of what we figured. I have no idea who my next companion will be or if she'll be senior or junior. It doesn't really matter though because I'm not training so it's all the same. 

We actually figured out transfer changes a day earlier than everyone else. On Saturday President Slaughter was here on the border and gave our district our own 2-hour Spanish training! It was awesome and so helpful. During a break transfers came up and he kind of just told us what was happening. Haha. So that took the nerves off for Sunday. Something cool though: Sister Isham, our Sister Training Leader who lives with me, is going to be a Traveling Sister. This is new for our mission. She's going to travel all over the mission to do exchanges with the other STL's. Sister Hearne, my trainer, is the other Traveling Sister. Cool! They will both be great. 

Seth didn't get baptized. We haven't seen him for at least a week and a half. He only texts us back when it doesn't involve any commitments. Like yesterday, we texted him to say that Hermana Ludeman was leaving and we needed to meet with him to say goodbye (I do not feel guilty). He said, "Oh no! When is she leaving?" We told him Wednesday and asked if we could meet that night or on Tuesday. He said he was in New Braunfels, so we asked him if we could meet with him on Tuesday. No response. Agh! Seth! I think he just figures he can get baptized whenever. So he's just putting it off until it's easy. And it never will be. So yeah. Keep praying for him. 

So, as I've already ranted, the whole time Hermana Ludeman and I have been together we've had a ridiculously hard time getting member-present lessons. It's not that the members aren't willing, it just never works out for some reason or another. But looking back, we've both been able to see that the incredibly hard time we had allowed us to develop some serious skills. We're SO much better at working with the members now. Like having them invite investigators to conference, having lessons at a member's home, finding members who would actually be a good friend for our investigator...these are things I didn't think a whole lot about in Riverside. It was all just too complicated. And it still doesn't always work out the way we want, but we're both much more confident with our ability to work with members. So that's good!

Like yesterday, we had a lesson with Rudy at the Pomeroy's home. I don't remember how much I've told you about the situation, but Rudy's been taught before and we found him by going through the potentials in the area book. We met him on September 11, the one-year anniversary of his wife's death. He knew that wasn't a coincidence. Anyway, we found out that he already had a Book of Mormon, given to him by his neighbor, Brother Pomeroy. 

The Pomeroy's have been praying as a family for a while to have someone to give to the missionaries by October 5th. Technically, we had already found Rudy, but they had him over for Conference and have been an incredible fellowship for Rudy, so I definitely believe this is the answer to their prayer. So cool! And soooo vital. Automatically his odds of getting baptized go up like a million percent. Anyway, yesterday we played this awesome Plan of Salvation game I made (an idea that's been passed down from sister missionary to sister missionary) after teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was so fun for everyone (the Pomeroy's have 6 kids) and Rudy seemed to learn a lot. But when we invited him to baptism, he said that he's just here to learn and if he were to choose one religion over the other he wouldn't be able to learn anymore. We couldn't ever quite get the logic behind that, but it's clear that he likes our message and he loves being included in the Pomeroy family, but he doesn't want to make any commitments. Does that sound familiar to anyone?

Something I came to understand better this week is that Heavenly Father doesn't waste any effort. Every contact, every lesson taught to someone who's not interested, every smile...He's going to use that. He's hastening His work and He's not wasting time. Everything we do as an effort to bring about His work, no matter how small, will be put to use. 

I hope you're all feeling the sense of urgency I am. How is your missionary work going? 80,000 missionaries isn't enough. We need the 15 million members! Talk to your friends and neighbors. Open your mouth. I still get nervous to talk to strangers about the gospel, but I can testify that Christ will give you the courage you need to do what He has asked. Time and time again I've felt his gentle gift of courage, even though it still takes me putting in everything I've got. Don't get discouraged when you miss an opportunity; He is patient! Just try again! And pray, pray, pray, pray, pray. He will give you what you need to do what He has asked you to do. Yo les prometo!

Pues, I love you all! Have a semana muy fantastica. 

Hermana Lund

Dios Manda a Profetas

Mi Familia,

SUCH a good weekend. Conference is suddenly better than Christmas when you're on a mission. I learned so much and I can't wait to read a bunch of it over again. We did have a few investigators there, or listen to it in their own homes! Last week was good and busy as we invited everyone we knew and tons we didn't to conference. Seth went to priesthood session with a member he's close to. That was a surprise because we had invited Brother Hatch to invite him but we thought he had work. Also, the Pomeroy family invited one of our newer investigators, Rudy, over to listen to the Sunday morning session with them. He loved it and told us he was surprised that they talked about God the whole time rather than Joseph Smith. and Marilyn and Jerry, a hilariously southern couple we've taught only a couple times, watched at least one session at home. They're super Baptist but have read a little from the Book of Mormon, mostly out of curiosity. Actually, only out of curiosity. I think that's what Conference was, too. But Marilyn said that she liked it and agreed with everything they said. 

I loved Conference. Probably the greatest thing I learned, or came to understand better, is Heavenly Father and Christ's pure, good love for us. Elder Ochoa said something about us not being able to do anything without the Holy Ghost. I thought about that, and thought about how the commandments are only there to help us have the Holy Ghost with us, so we can one day inherit all of God's blessings. It became clear to me. Heavenly Father isn't the God so many people in the world imagine: a old man sitting on his throne demanding to be worshiped and obeyed and smiting people left and right. He is so good. He isn't mad when we neglect Him, He's sad that our decisions are distancing us from Him and the influence of the Holy Ghost that is so vital for us to get anywhere. When we slip, He is patient. He is quick to help us back up. He is purely good. How important it is for everyone to understand this!!

Yesterday morning the Crapo family invited us over for breakfast before Conference. It was a COLD morning (we got a beautiful cold front this weekend! We were wearing cardigans and scarves and tights and everything! I think it's about over, though) and we sat cozily at the table with their sweet family, talking and laughing and eating waffles with homemade whipped cream and syrup, cinnamon rolls that were to die for, bacon, eggs, and orange juice. And Sister Crapo gave us a warm loaf of homemade bread for us to take home, because she knows how much we love her bread (it is SOOO good! I will use her recipe forever!). We felt so loved. I don't think I'll ever forget how beautiful that morning was, and how I felt. And Sister Crapo gives the greatest hugs. 

We dropped Christina yesterday. She didn't come to Conference and hasn't been reading, and we basically told her that we will teach her as long as she shows an interest, but if she's not going to act we can't waste God's time. She got kind of defensive and said that she's just really busy and can't go to school and tell her teacher that she didn't do her homework but at least she read the Book of Mormon and stuff like that. But she needs to make it a priority. We've invited her hundreds of times to just read one minute a day. She won't even do that. She said she hopes things will be easier next week, and we asked her to call us when things slow down and she wants us to come back over. She said she will. My heart kind of sunk in that lesson but it had to be done. We'll keep praying for her and see what happens. 

Seth's being difficult still. The branch president wants him to meet with President Garza, the mission presidency counselor who's over the district down here, before he gets baptized. But he's completely avoiding it. We saw him one time this week and had a good lesson, but he was questioning getting baptized on the 12th. We haven't seen him or heard much from him since. We think the main thing is that he's scared of the interview. We don't know why. We've talked about it several times and told him that President Garza just wants to get to know him and there's nothing to worry about. We don't know what's going on. He's just so, so busy (isn't that always the story?) and needs to make the gospel a priority. It's completely his decision. We'll see what happens.

So to change gears, this whole government shut-down thing is really hitting Del Rio hard. The majority of people here work government jobs like border control. Many people have been sent home or working without pay. Many don't know if they'll get retropaid or not. It's nuts and it's effecting everyone. I hope it ends soon.

I think that's all I've got to say. Next week I'll tell you what happens with transfer calls. I'm trying not to think about it and to live in the now. Hermana Ludeman and I made a pact that whenever we start talking about transfers, we have to start talking about ducks. It's been pretty effective since there's not a lot to say about them.

Love you all! Have a fantastic week!

Hermana Lund