Joy In The Work

MONDAY:  

So I am back to cleaning all my clothes by hand because we don’t have a washer.  But I don’t mind because I just turn on a General Conference session while I wash all my laundry.  :)  Plus my wrists have gotten super strong!

In the evening we taught 2 of Hermana Teresita’s children.  She is a recent convert and has 4 children who are all great!  (Brandon is 14, Michelle is 12, Anthony is 9 and More is 5).  The three older children really want to be baptized, but their dad won’t give them permission, so we are working with them / visiting them often.

TUESDAY:

In the morning we had our weekly district meeting, which went well.  I tested / helped our district leaders with a couple of chapters in their English books.  I think it’s great when the native missionaries truly try to learn English - and I LOVE to help them because it makes me feel useful and happy.  :)

Just to give you all an idea of how hot it is here, I sleep with the fan on HIGH all through the night and don’t use a blanket!   In the mornings, I shower with cool water and almost always have my hair up in a pony tail.

There are these super big trees that provide tons of cool shade and hang low!
Sometimes we sit under them for a water break.

WEDNESDAY:

Today we encountered 4 new investigators to teach!  One thing I really like about opening an area is all the people with individual and unique backgrounds / stories.

Today when we were a bit lost, we approached an elderly man sitting in the shade with a scruffy little dog on his lap.  We asked if he knew where a specific building was, and he gave us directions.  Of course we weren’t going to pass up the opportunity to “contact” him (or receive his house address, full name, and date / time for a lesson).  After explaining about our role as missionaries, … to invite others to come unto Christ and [for] them receive His restored Gospel … the elderly man said, “You both are really close to my God.  I could feel it when you approached me and started talking.  Here is my number, please call me when you have a chance to visit and share your message with me.”  This experience made me even more thankful for the Spirit which testifies to others that we are representatives of Jesus Christ and carry with us the important message of salvation for all His children.  I love being a missionary and I love this are of Boulevares, Aguascalientes!

THURSDAY:

We tried to teach a man named Orlando.  (The husband of a less active member who had a bad experience with one of the members).  And now he won’t listen to us or our message and won’t give the Gospel a second chance - all because of the actions of another person.

I know we must respect people’s agency, but as we walked away, I started to cry.  Hermana Perez asked if I was okay, and I tried to describe to her that it’s heartbreaking and sad to know how much this Gospel can bless others, but regardless, some people choose the harder road and reject it.

The more I learn of the doctrine of our church, the harder it is for me not to shed a tear or two when others don’t accept it - even though some of these people are practically strangers.

FRIDAY:

Happy Friday the 13th  :)  We bought all our fresh fruits and vegetables for the week from Tianguis (the once a week ginormous and super long farmers’ market / swap meet).  I bought raisins, mangos, bananas, apples, guavas, papayas, lentils with tomatoes and onions and cilantro and some candied peanuts and granola - all for 100 pesos (about 9 dollars!)  We have been having a lot of success in our area.  We encountered 2 new investigators today and set up dates with 3 less active members to teach.  Hermana Perez and I make a good team.  :)  

SATURDAY:

English class went well!  We learned and practiced the verbs To BE and To HAVE.  One of my students made me laugh when she couldn’t pronounce the word “fish” and kept saying “I have a fierce”  ha ha  :)  

At 6pm the Elders had a baptism, so we brought Anthony (our 9 year old investigator) so he could see what it’s like.  He said, “I can’t wait to be baptized!”

Here is Anthony at the ward activity!
Doesn't he have a great smile?

Afterwards, we had the ward activity to celebrate Father’s Day.  It was so much fun.  The Relief Society sisters had prepared a variety of musical numbers.  Then the Primary Children danced and sang, which was cute.  Finally, we all ate tacos, horchata, and cake while taking turns at the Karaoke machine.  :)

Relief Society Sisters dancing and singing for Fathers Day

Here are the primary children singing

SUNDAY:

Happy Father’s Day to all the men and dads!  I am incredibly grateful for my wonderful Dad.

In the morning, we picked up Anthony and More for church.  I was so touched to see how excited they were to attend with us, all on their own.  They sat quietly and listened, and when we dropped them off afterwards, they said they liked it.  Lunch was yummy, and shortly after it started to rain.  It was more than a light drizzle, but I liked it because it was cooling and refreshing.  Plus, I love the smell of wet earth and wet asphalt.

We visited several families - during which time the rain stopped.  Then we entered a building and encountered a young woman crying with a young baby in her arms.  I asked what was wrong and she embraced me in a hug and cried on my shoulder for a few moments.  I asked her some questions to calm her down; like how old her daughter was and what her name was.  She then told me that her boyfriend had kicked her and the baby out into the street and she now had absolutely nothing.  She was waiting for her brother to return from work and thinks she’ll be able to move in with him for the time being.

Hermana Perez and I sang her a hymn and then taught her about the Savior’s love and the plan that He has for each of us.  We emphasized the importance of prayer to communicate with our Father in Heaven and said we can learn from all our experiences here in life and grow for the better.  She was really grateful and said we arrived just when she needed us.  

I know the Lord will never leave us alone.  He always wants to help us and hear from us. 

A little bit later as Hermana Perez and I were walking again, we heard the voice of a child shout, “Hey Misioneras!”  It was Anthony with his cousin and younger sister, More, all running towards us giddy and smiling.  :)        More said, “Let’s go to the park!’  to which I replied,       “Of course!  Come on.”  

Hermana Perez looked at me a little confused, but I said we would just stay for 5 minutes.  The “park” right around the corner consisted of a couple of swings, a basketball court, and a merry-go-round cage.  The 3 children said, “Hermana Alyson, push us on the merry-go-round!”  So I told them to hold on tight and I started spinning them.  Soon, due to their laughter, other kids in the park started running over to join in the fun … all shouting “Faster!  Faster!”  Hermana Perez was soon laughing at the sight of me - a tall white girl - spinning all these little children on the merry-go-round.  :)  We were all happy and had a good time.

Here are the kids that I was spinning on the merry-go-round at the park

This is just one of the examples of all the cool and crazy graffiti here that decorates all the sides of buildings and walls

I am truly happy here in Mexico on my mission and with my companion.  All is going great and I know this is the work of the Lord.  :)

I hope you all have a fantastic week.

“How beautiful are the feet of them that preach of peace and bring glad tidings of good things.”  Romans 10:15.  We all have the potential and power to be missionaries and preach this gospel unto all!

All my love and support,

Hermana Eliason