Week 1 Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico

"I LIIIIVVVVVEEEEE." 

Name that movie. Mulan. 

Don't you worry, everyone! I'm alive! And boy am I in heaven because the weather is wonderful here. I'll probably get home from my mission and just talk about the weather all the time. Actually, that is the number one conversation topic in Sabinas. 

I'm feeling pretty good. Probably because we havn't started going on splits with the sisters yet. That starts tomorrow. The next Monday I'll probably have a whole email about how tired I am and how I'm not going to live through the normal 6 months of having this calling. 

I suppose I should explain what a sister training leader is because I forget that mission culture is not known worldwide. Basically what we do is we call the sisters to see how they're doing, we work with the mission president so that we can make the sister's missions awesome, and we go to the sister's areas and work with them for a day and train them on what they need help with. 

Basically we're just running around all the time. Currently we are bummed because we never have any time to write in our journals. How are my descendants going to know what I ate that day or how many dogs tried to bite us? 

Priorities.

Hermana Roberts is AWESOME. I feel a little weird having a companion that knows what I'm saying when I mutter in English. But she's really awesome and a really hard worker. She's also super blond so people yell at us everyday in the streets "GUERA" or "BLOND" You get used to it after a while. We are both pretty new to this calling, so we're learning together. 

We have good investigators, but I don't really know them all that well. The members are pretty cool. I'm back to the fatty food of Saltillo. We'll see how this goes. 

I can see my old area when we are at the top of my area. It's so tempting. 

Anyway, I'm good. I feel very blessed to be in this calling and I hope that I can do it WELL. 

The church is true. God lives. Jesus Christ is our Savior. 

I love you all!!

-Hermana Murset

P.S. The whole mission has been having a debate about how my last name is pronounced. I just let them pronounce it however they want and when someone pointed out that it's "MurSET" a lot of people felt betrayed. 

Pictures:

Hermana Roberts and I!! We hadn't taken a picture so we took one a second ago in our p-day glory.

Adriana, Coralia, and Pablito. Investigators that I love dearly. 

A Sister What What? Sabinas, Coahuila, Mexico

I've had a pretty uneventful week. Filled with the usual walking around, dying in the heat, preaching the gospel, trying not to get run over... 

Well, I did have one interesting thing happen to me. I guess I'll tell you about it, since I'll be doing it for practically the rest of my mission. Last night we recieved a very ominous call from a number from Saltillo, which made me flashback to the day when I was told that I was going to train. (Terror) But we missed the phone call. DUN DUN DUUUNNNN. (I'm trying to make this as dramatic as possible). So then I called them back, and they didn't answer. So we sat there staring at the phone until they called us back. *Ring!* Elder Monterroso, the president's assistent. 

"What's up Hermana Murset?" (He speaks English.)

"Nothing much, planning for the day." 

"Sweet. Well Hermana, I have some news for you! You have been called to be sister training leader." 

"Are you joking." 

"Nope." 

And that's basically how the conversation went. Haha I'm embarrassed to say that afterwards my companion and I had a crying fest. Me, feeling like I was abandoning my missionary child, her feeling like her mother was abandoning her in a strange place with strange people... We're alright now, but we used up a roll of toilet paper. So yeah! I have been called to be sister training leader. I'm off to Saltillo to be with Hermana Roberts, my first American companion! She's from Texas. Hermana Luna will be staying in Sabinas and will be with Hermana Mis, who is a sweetheart.

I'm not nervous at all.  😲

Anyway, that's what happened to me this week. I'm going to miss Sabinas and Hermana Luna. But I guess the Lord needs me to toughen up a little bit and help some sisters out. I think I'm ready? But the best part of all? I'M LEAVING THE OVEN. I WILL DIE OF HEAT NO LONGER. 

YESSSSSSSSSSSS.

I love you all. I really do. 

-Hermana Murset

Pictures:

Hermana Luna and I!!! She's so sweet. I love her. Even though I'm really weird, she accepts me. I LOVE YOU HERMANA LUNAAAA. And yes, I have lost a lot of weight in my face. 

Hermana Luna is practicing her Riverdance. I laughed so. hard. 

My Zone!  My Zone.  

A Churchy Experience (July 27, 2015) Sabinas, Coahuila, Mexico

So I was calmly looking through the emails that I recieved this week and almost completely forgot that I needed to write a weekly email. I'm pretty sure that this heat is frying my brain because just in this week I've forgotten to put on my nametag twice, forgot my hymnbook in a house, forgot that we had to eat lunch, etc.

Anyway.

What would you say if I told you that someone walked into the church yesterday and after Sacrament meeting came up to us and told us "I want to be baptized."? Well you better believe me because that's what happened yesterday.

 It's actuallly not as out of the blue as I make it sound because he's an old investigator from two years ago that was engaged to a church member. He's been going through a lot of stuff in his life and realized that the only time when things have gone right have been when he's been in our church. He actually wanted to get baptized that day, but he has to wait awhile. Haha then when my zone leaders called I made it sound like a really dramatic event like he burst into the chapel or tried to dive into the font. They were full of jealousy. 

We really did see miracles this week. Hermana Luna has such a strong spirit and has helped me a lot in the area and with finding people to teach. I love her so much! *Sniff* My missionary child!

The other day we were walking along after a long day of, well, walking, and a man who has a taco booth yelled out to us to come and talk to him. (That actually happens more than you would think) So we ended up sitting down at a little table that he had and we started talking about religion and whatnot. Then he whipped us up some tacos and someone showed up with cake and then the wind picked up and a freak rain storm dumped down on us. And THAT is when I realized that I love the mission. I'm not even joking. My heart swelled up as I thought about all the random but awesome experiences that I've had on my mission. I'm speaking in Spanish, eating tacos, people offer us water, I make friends wherever I go... it's great.

Speaking of friends, one time we contacted some men that have a car washing business on the side of the road. We invited them to church and one of them said "Will there be food?"  and I told him "If you bring some there will be!" And they roared in laughter and now we have a lovely friendship.

I love the mission. I really do. 

I don't have pictures! I really do look awful during the day. Dripping sweat. 

This is tan, not sunburn.

Love you all!

--

Hermana Murset

Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers (July 20, 2015) Sabinas, Coahuila, Mexico

I don't know if you guys know who Elder Paul Pieper is, but he's one of the guys that shows up in the conference Ensign. In the middle of all the Seventies. Anyway, we had a conference with him this week! 

We packed our bags and headed off to Piedras Negras. All of us sat in the chapel there with our shoes shined and hair done and nobody uttered a peep. He taught us a whole bunch of stuff that blew my mind. I kept thinking "NO WONDER HE'S A SEVENTY." He's super nice and I think he's from Utah... I don't remember much from when they introduced him because I was super tired that morning. I slept in a super comfy bed and I was so worried that I wasn't going to enjoy it that I didn't end up sleeping at all...

After the conference one of the zone leaders got up and said "Some of you are going to be interviewed by Elder Pieper." And then he walked up to me and said "You're first." GAAAHH. I probably looked terrified. 

Elder Pieper sat me down in an office and asked me to tell him about myself. I couldn't remember how to speak in English, but he was very patient with me. We basically just talked and got to know each other. He answered my questions and I sat there trying to not speak Spanglish. He knows where Hurricane and La Verkin are and he pronounced them with a perfect southern Utah accent. 

Long story short, I have a message from Elder Pieper to my family;

"I want you to tell your family that I am very grateful that they sent their wonderful daughter on the mission. Tell them that the Lord is very pleased with you and with all that you've done." 

Thanks, Elder Pieper!

And then I left the room and everyone piled on top of me asking me what he said, what I said, if I was scared, etc. 

And that was my week! That's really the only exciting thing that happened to me. 

We went to go visit an investigator that we have who has a super strong testimony of the gospel, BUT WON'T GO TO CHURCH. Anyway. The last time we visited her we left Alma 32 for her to read, thinking that maybe she would learn a little about faith. When we returned she had learned everything BUT about faith and had somehow obtained her answer that she should go to church. Now that's what I call learning by the Spirit!

But then she didn't go to church. lja;lkfja;sldkfj;lskjdlfaj;

Yesterday I taught Hna Luna how to say "holy moly guacamole!" I'm such a good trainer.

We also encountered a couple of drunk men. Turns out they're less actives. We talked a little bit about that, then this is how the conversation went:

"Hey, your Spanish is beautiful!"

"Thank you."

"HEY. Your Spanish is beautiful!"

"Thank you."

"HhheeeeEY. You're Spanish is BEAUTIFUL." 

"Thank you. Bye!" 

That conversation happens to me at least once a day. 

Anywho, I love you! I hope you have a great week and I hope you enjoy your air conditioning. We don't have that here...

-Hermana Murset

Picture:

This picture just had to be taken. 

Half Way to the High Way (July 13, 2015) Sabinas, Coahuila, Mexico

I don't know if you knew this, but in 2 days I am going to be halfway through my mission. That doesn't fill me with stress at all.

It's been a good 9 months. I've learned more than I ever thought I would learn. I've seen more than I ever thought I would see. I've been where I never thought I would go. And I've said "Soy la Hermana Murset" more times than I ever thought I would. 

NINE MMOOONNNNTTHHHSSSS. Nine more to go. 

The branch that I'm in has had a little problem of not going to the temple for 6 months now. It's about a 6 hour drive in bus to the temple and the members have to pay for a ticket to go. Money isn't the problem (they're all rich), maybe just that after 6 months nobody cared. 

So we sweep in like the awesome missionaries that we are and started teaching about temples. And finally, after a 6 month break, they went to the temple! Us missionaries rejoiced, even though it interfered with our missionary activity... We watched Meet the Mormons in the church. But that's okay because they went to the temple!

So here is my advice for you:

GO to the temple.

DO your family history work.

DON'T be slackers.

Or else I'll be on your doorstep in 9 months in my full awkward state of a returned missionary ready to tell you what's up. 

We haven't been able to find any new people to teach in these past two weeks. We make appointments, but then they aren't in their house. We contact, but then they are from the other area. So on and so forth. But it's okay because we're not discouraged one bit! We are learning a lot about patience. 

I think I'm getting better at speaking Spanish. 

I tried to make rice today but we don't have a lid for the pot that we have so I covered it with a frying pan. But then the rice started boiling and the pressure built up and the pan blew off the pot in a very dramatic fashion. Hermana Luna yelled "WHY DID THE PAN FLY???!!!" Hahaha I love her. 

I'm having a good time here in Sabinas. Although it's super hot and the mosquitos consider me a fine dinner. 

I love being here and I promise that I will make these next 9 months worth it. 

I love you all!

Pictures:

1. Hna. Luna isn't a picture taking person so as we haven't taken any. As we were coming to the cyber cafe to write I told her "We need to take a picture!" So there we are, in our apartment complex. I told her as the light was flashing "Do something weird!" Then she did exactly what I did. AIR BENDING.

2. A candid of me looking through my notes. AND MY WATCH TANLINE. 

Where's Your Umbrella? (July 6, 2015) Sabina, Coahuila, Mexico

Everyone asks us why we don't carry around umbrellas. It gets old after awhile. But I guess we should use them. Something about the sun and skin cancer...

WELL THIS WEEK HAS BEEN GREAT. I don't really have any great stories. But I will try.

The other day we were walking along the road after a long day of trekking around Sabinas. A man passed by us and greeted us very enthusiastically, saying "Hello hermanas!!!!!" So we started talking to him and within 10 seconds gave us his address, his phone number, and his full name. Well, guess we've got to visit him! 

Then the next day our district leader called us and said "I have a reference for you." Then he started reciting the information of the same exact man! Well, I guess we've got to visit him! We passed by once. He wasn't home. We passed by a second time, he wasn't home. Well, 10th time's the charm!

We also found a man that has all the church's books. He's studied them and knows a whole bunch. We're going to visit him today. 

We've been visiting a less active that has been operated on who knows how many times and right now he is healing. Every time we go we sit down, he demands us to sing and pray, then he starts ranting about tithing or fasting or whatever you can think of, and we sit there and listen. 

The first time we went he told us that he doesn't believe in prophets and that the Book of Mormon is all lies. So then we asked the branch president if he knows that this member has been yelling apostasy at the missionaries and he just nodded, shrugged, and said "It's the old age." BAH.

I have been drilling Hna. Luna on the first lesson. We both now have almost all of it memorized. And when they tell you that you need to study before and then the Spirit will put the words in your mouth, IT'S TRUE. Hna. Luna is awesome and is always willing to give her part in the lesson when I give her the "look". I knew that "look" very well with Hna. Penaranda and now she will know it very well with me. :D 

We contacted a man the other day that said no to our message because he told us that he likes to be drunk all day. I told him that our message helps improve the quality of your life and when he decides to change his, he knows how to get to the chapel.

We are starting to enter the 45 day period known as "canicula" Really that just means that the only people who are out in the streets are the missionaries and the dogs. 

Speaking of dogs, as we were walking to church yesterday a little puppy started following us! It followed us all the way to the chapel, but we didn't let it go inside. It wasn't out there when we got out, but the members said that it was sitting out there for quite some time, waiting. IT MELTS MY HEART. 

And that's my week for ya. I'm learning a lot and I'm gaining a stronger testimony each and every day. You have no idea. The mission is awesome and in NINE DAYS I'M HALF WAY THROUGH. 

I know that God is our Eternal Father. I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and the Savior and Redeemer of the world. And really, I'm glad to be their representative. 

Love you all!

Sorry for any spelling errors I might have made. I don't know why, but I'm really self concious about that. 

Picture: 

Sabinas looking dramatic. 

I'm a Mother (June 29, 2015) Sabinas, Coahuila, Mexico

Hiiiiiii. I'm a mom. (This missionary culture really gets me.)

So last Monday I wrote my short email and then I was off to Saltillo! A 6 hour bus ride. It was great and I didn't sleep at all. We arrived in Saltillo and we didn't really know what to do so all of us trainers from up north went to the mission offices and just chilled there. 

Two hours later somebody found us and gave us food. Then all at once all of the new missionaries piled into the office and my mind was going berserk because ONE OF THESE FOUR SISTER MISSIONARIES COULD BE MY DAUGHTER. 

I already knew who it was thanks to having connections in the mission office, but it was still very nerve racking. We went to sleep in the hermana's house and then in the morning all of us headed off to the chapel lookin' all spiffy. They really like to make it a heart pounding experience because we sing Called to Serve and then they name them off, one by one. "The Hermana Murset, who is serving in Sabinas 1A, will now be serving with.......................................................................... HERMANA LUNA!" And then everyone bursts into riotous applause. 

My daughter is awesome. She's from Puebla and she's as tall as me. Now I can take my giant steps and not worry about my companion getting lost! She's really sweet and quiet and comes from a family of 10. 

When we got to the house for the first two days she informed me that she was going to enter the bathroom. After a bit I think she realized that it wasn't necessary to do that. 

I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing and I keep being surprised when I realize that I'm going to be teaching mostly on my own for awhile. But she helps me out, don't worry. 

It's been a wild week. But I feel very blessed. I have a ton of responsibility on my shoulders right now (they told us that we are basically responsible for their salvation if we mess them up) but I feel good. I feel calm, and I feel like a mom. In the missionary sense. Don't worry. 

I love you all and I hope you have a very happy happy week! HAPPY FOURTH OF JULYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. 

I'll be singing the national anthem. 

Pictures:

Hna. Luna and I! She saw a picture of me that was taken 2 days before I left on the mission and she looked at it and said "How nice." then 3 seconds later, "WAIT. THAT'S YOU?!" Apparently I look different. The same thing happened with a picture from 3 months ago........ Who knows. 

HiBye (June 22, 2015) Sabinas, Coahuila, Mexico

HELLO GOODBYE.

Just kidding I'm going to write a little bit more. I don't have much time because in... 20 minutes I'm off to Saltillo to pick up my child. Yes, I'm going to be a mother. MEANING that I am going to train. Don't worry, I'm not actually going to have a child. Anyway, I'm off to Saltillo to welcome her and then I'm returning to Sabinas. 

Last night one of the assistants to the president called me and of course I knew what it was for (the president told me I was going to train like a month ago) and he told me "Your branch president called us a little bit ago. He has called you to be the relief society president of your branch!" And I just said "Uuuuuhhhhhh..........." Then he said just kidding and got really serious and said "Hermana Murset, you have been called to be a trainer." Then he went off to tell me that I'm going to be one of the biggest influences to this new missionary and that I shouldn't MESS UP. Ha. That didn't scare me or anything. 

Anyway. I'm a mom now. The missionary culture is really weird. The first time somebody asked me who my "mamá" was I replied "Carolyn Murset." 

I gotta go. 

Love you all!

Hermana Murset

Ocho Meses (Eight Months) Sabinas, Coahuila, Mexico (June 15, 2015)

HOY (meaning today) I complete eight months in the mission. That means I have ten months left and that means that I have exactly 4 months until I have a year in the mission.
;lakjf;lkajsd;lfkjasd;lkfj;alskd

I really don't know what to think. But don't worry, I'm alright. Sabinas is hot and I might train the next transfer, but I'm alright. 

Somebody asked me the other day how many years I had been studying Spanish. I guess I'm getting pretty good at it? It was a little boost in the self-esteem. 

We are still teaching Adriana, the lady that has something wrong with her foot. I think we have been successful in teaching her that she shouldn't invoke the Spirit. Although the other day as we were praying she slowly rose her hands to the ceiling and kept them there. I don't know how she didn't get a cramp in her shoulders. She's really smart though and knows a lot about the gospel. She started crying the other day because she's still unsure if she's going to get baptized and she thought that we weren't going to come visit her if she didn't get baptized. She's sweet. 

We've been teaching the wild looking man with white hair in short bursts. He's awesome and always looks out for us. The Hermana that was going to feed us gave us money instead so we stopped by Jaime's work and ate hamburgers with him. He said "This is the first time in the year that I've been working here that somebody has eaten lunch with me!" 

I'm getting eaten alive by the mosquitos and I'm pretty sure that my legs will be permanently scarred (not being sarcastic), but the blessing is that they don't itch that bad. 

I don't really have anything else to say other than that.... It was a good week. And next week are transfers! It's crazy how fast this transfer went by. I feel like I'm just barely getting the hang of it. 

I love you all and I hope you have a fantastic week filled with ice cream and snowcones and everything cold!

Pictures: 

THERE ARE NO MOUNTAINS HERE. I feel very strange and very vulnerable. 

JAIME. He doesn't look so wild in this picture. Come to think of it, he got a haircut today. 

Another Day, Another Peso. (June 8, 2015) Sabinas , Coahuila, Mexico

Another week is passed and gone and I'm still trying to figure out how to tell one of our investigators that she can't invoke the Holy Spirit. 

Everyone here keeps telling me that the heat that we're feeling is just a little test of what we are going to be feeling during "canicula" (meaning the hottest part of the year where the only people in the streets are the missionaries). Apparently it reaches up to 50 degrees Celsius, but I have no idea what that is in Farenheit, so somebody please help me. I think I might shrivel up like in the heat. Someday I'll recover. 

WE HAVE A HALF HOUR MORE TO WRITE ON MONDAYS. Yesssss..... 

The day before yesterday we were walking home after a long day of walking around in a part of our area where we don't work all that much. I saw a wild looking man dressed in ragged white clothes. He also had poofy white hair. I think he likes the shade white. Anyway, I wasn't going to contact him because I was tired and didn't want to contact a wild man (I'm selfish sometimes). 

But then I repented and when he passed by us I said hello and started talking to him. His face lit up and he told us that he had always seen us passing by where he works (a beer store) and thought that we would never talk to a person like him. He excitedly gave us his direction (which happens to be just down the road from where we live) and told us to call him to wake him up so he could go to church. 

 We visited him yesterday and before we could even speak he asked us what he needed to do to be baptized. Man, I love it when that happens. He's very animated and when I told him that my grandma is paying for my mission he excitedly told me that he wants to meet her and thank her for doing that because now he has two "angel missionaries" that are going to teach him the gospel. 

He's awesome and he's named Jaime. 

The other night I was lying in bed, thinking about life (just kidding I don't have time to think about life, I was thinking about sleeping) when I started counting my time in the mission. Then I realized that in FOUR MONTHS I'm going to have a year in the mission. FOUR MONTHS. I exclaimed my revelation outloud and my companion was very annoyed that I awoke her from her slumber. Man time flies. 

I'm really tired, but I'm satisfied. This is a good area with good people. Even though it's hot. 

I love you all and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Picture:

Look how tan I am. And no, I'm not burned. That's a true tan. You should see the white line I have from where my bag strap is.