Another Week, Another Baptism (Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico)

So I got my hair cut today. I feel young and wild and free as much as a missionary can be. Or in other words, I wore my hair down instead of pulling it up like I usually do. 

Cesar is getting baptized this week! We asked him if he has white cloths to get baptized in and he assured us that he has some. But I'm a little worried that he's going to show up in his baker's uniform... He's a baker, by the way. But that doesn't really matter because I'm really happy that we've finally gotten to this point! He wants us to sing "Called to Serve" in the baptismal service. Gotta love that man. 

This week we met a young lady named Karina. We had a pretty cool experience with her. She was sweeping the sidewalk when we went up to talk to her. We asked her if we could share a message and she let us into her house. To be honest, during the whole message she didn't look very interested. She doesn't really have any religious background and so I think she was a little bit uncomfortable because she didn't know what to say. But that's okay, it's a learning process! 

She told us that she had never prayed before, so at the end of the lesson we taught her how to pray and asked her if she could do it. She said that she could. She started with "Heavenly Father," then there was a long silence. She started praying and when it ended, she was crying. I asked her if she felt something in her heart and she nodded. I asked her to explain what it was like, and she said "Love." We explained what it was and she invited us to come to teach her again. Who knows if she'll accept our message later on, but I feel especially privileged to have been there when somebody prays for the first time, and for the first time in their lives, knows that God is listening. 

I'm starting to realize that my mission is coming to an end. I mean, I still have quite a bit of time, but that time flies. I just hope I can adjust to eating without tortillas when I get home...

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! I didn't do anything for it. Actually, I forgot about it... 

Anyway. I love you all and I hope you have a great week! By this time next week I'll have my next transfers. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to the border of Mexico and the U.S. to a town called Acuña. We'll see. 

Hermana Murset

Pictures: 

The Katrina Museum. The Katrina is the skeleton dressed as a woman. It was actually closed (closes on Mondays) so we didn't get to see it. Hmph.

I don't know if you remember this family. They were some of my converts in Zaragoza 2. I got to see them the other day! Minus the hermano, but oh well.

Happy Turkey Day Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico

I never thought that I would like EFY songs until I listened to the same 200 Mormon Tabernacle Choir hymns for a year. 

Anywayyyy. 

This week was pretty normal. We kicked Zarco in the behind this week and ended the week with the best numbers in the zone. They say that numbers don't count, buuut...

I also went to the hosptial to get my heart checked out. DON'T WORRY I'M FINE. I've been having really bad pains in my chest and in my back and my handy dandy nurse companion made me go to get it checked out. They did a whole electrogram or whatever it's called. My heart's great! Where there's scars on my heart from the procedure they did a couple years ago showed up, but that's normal. Turns out the pains are muscle contractions caused by changes in the weather. Now you know why I complain so much about the weather here... But we just happened to be on splits when I went to get checked out. The poor Hermana thought I was going to die. 

Hey! This week is Thanksgiving! I'm planning on cooking a turkey and some pie. Just kidding, I never have time to do anything. Let alone make a bowl of cereal. I've said it so many times, but the mission has helped me to learn to be grateful. When I was going through some of the hardest times in my mission, I wrote down grateful thoughts and that's how I got through it. So to end this highly informative and entertaining email, I will tell you what I'm grateful for. Just imagine that we're all sitting around the Thanksgiving table sharing our thankful thoughts.

-My family

-My shoes that have lasted me this long.

-The gospel.

-Flour tortillas

-Handwritten letters *cough* *hint*

-Literacy

-Books

-A good night's rest

-Air conditioning

-Indoor plumbing ("It's gonna be big.")

-That I learned Spanish. What a miracle.

-Utah

-My friends

-Dogs that don't bark or bite when we pass by.

-Awesome people here in Mexico.

-Honest people

-Cereal

-Ramen noodles

-'Merica

-Chocolate chip cookies

-Pretty much everything

Happy Thanksgiving!! I love you all and I am very grateful for all that you do. :)

Hermana Murset

Pictures:

I was a milk maid walking back from the grocery store. Hermana Mis got a real kick out of it. You can see the box of Cheerios in one of the bags. Cheerios 4 life.

Remember a year ago when I sent a similar picture? I would have you know that a half our later the sun was shining and it was hot. ;alkdjf;alksdjf

Clever Title (November 16, 2015) Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico

You know you've been on the mission for a while when someone tells you to renounce your prophet, The Book of Mormon, basically all your beliefs... and it doesn't even bother you. You leave the appointement, and as you're walking down the street you say to your companion "I've heard worse." And you give them a fist bump and walk away knowing that you at least bore your testimony of what you know is true.

Those are very inpirational moments. 

Remember way back when when I first got on the mission and I started telling you about a certain family called Esparza Rodriguez? If you don't remember, it's okay. The mom and the daughter were my first converts. The other daughter, Dariela, loved going to church, she gained her own testimony that it's true, and all that jazz. But she never wanted to get baptized! That's okay, it's her choice. Well it sure was a surprise when I recieved a call from the Hermanas that are now in Zaragoza 2 and they invited me to Dariela's baptism! I guess after a year she finally decided to do it. But she told the Hermanas "I will get baptized. But only if Hermana Murset is there!" 

Well lucky her my area is 20 minutes away. The day of the baptism arrived and we hurried to the chapel, only to find a whole bunch of people I didn't recognize, the bishop in Zaragoza 2, and that they had just barely closed the baptismal font's doors.

I thought: ARE YOU KIDDING ME I MISSED IT?

No, turns out it was another person. Whew.

Eventually Dariela showed up, but the sneaky Hermanas in Zaragoza 2 told her that I wouldn't be able to make it. She nearly tackled when she saw me! It was a beautiful baptism, and a lot of tears were shed. Hermana Martha (her mom) nearly suffocated me with hugs.

I love them a lot. More than I love gorditas. 

It made me happy knowing that they are still going to church and that they love the gospel. It makes the whole mission worth it, doesn't it? 

On the other hand, 13 months on Sunday! In five months you will be seeing my tanned face.

I love you all! Have a great week!

Hermana Murset

Pictures: 

Me, Dariela, Yudith, Abdiel, Martha, and the new baby. <3

A fuzzy picture of me and a fuzzy cat.

You Would Think I Would Get Bored of Writing Every Week Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico

Remember a year ago when I was a greenie who didn't know a lick of Spanish and in every email I wrote to home I complained about the weather? 

Welll....

I'm back to complaining about Saltillo's bipolar weather. Yesterday it was foggy, I could see my breath, I had on two layers of clothing, Hermana Mis was practically dying, etc. Aaaand today the sun is shining bright and I'm considering putting on sunscreen because I'm pretty sure that I'm going to get a sunburn. 

GAH.

On another note, have you ever wondered how many sister missionaries it takes to lock a bathroom door? 

None because we couldn't do it.

In our chapel all the classroom doors are outside so you have to lock every single one, including the bathrooms. Well, after trying all the keys, greasing the door with chapstick, and accidentally yanking off the door handle, we gave up. And that's how we spent an hour of our day on Friday. 

The mission is super exciting sometimes. 

We had a lesson with our awesome investigator, Cesar, yesterday. We brought along a recent convert, Lupita, who always gives long speeches about her life. We got there to find Cesar, Alicia (other recent convert), and some relatives. One of the relatives is hard of hearing and spent the whole time talking very loudly about how he's Catholic and will never change his religion. Which then caused Cesar to go off on a rant about the Catholic church, which then caused Lupita to start her long speech about her life. Meanwhile Hermana Mis and I are trying to teach about prophets. It was quote chaotic and at one point everyone stopped talking except the hard of hearing relative. We could not get him to stop talking for the life of us so I asked Lupita to give the prayer and she stood up and started praying and the guy just keeeeppttt talking. 

It was a great lesson. 

And that's been my week! I hope you have all been super awesome and that you are enjoying November. I probably won't get the chance to eat pie, so please eat some for me. I love you all!

Hermana Murset

Pictures: 

The assistants to the President went wild on the little "In this mission we baptize" flyers. We found them in the bathroom and even on the faucet. I think they have too much time on their hands...

The view of Saltillo! My sillouette (how do you spell that...) is also there. 

El Día de los Muertos Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico (November 2, 2015)

Or in other words, Day of the Dead. We decided to try to tie in the whole death thing into our contacts, telling them that we believe in life after death and that we can see our loved ones after this life, and so on and so forth. But then we contacted a lady who went off on a rant because she doesn't celebrate Halloween or Day of the Dead.... soooo then we tied it in with family history work like the AWESOME MISSIONARIES THAT WE ARE.

Haha...

Anyway, this week was really hard, I'm not gonna lie. We had little work and a lot of walking. Plus it was raining and we didn't have our umbrellas. Poor Hermana Mis, I don't think she's ever been to a cold place in her life. She was practically limping a long because her legs were numb. Now she puts on tights everyday even though it's blazing hot out. (Saltillo weather for ya.) Hermana Mis AWESOME. She's the mission's nurse. She's 27 and started her professional career in 2011. She's really cheery and spiritual and when she talks about medical stuff she gets really intense.

They don't have chocolate chip cookies here and I am dying. They don't bake anything because they use their ovens to store their pots...

Happy November! (I'm skipping from subject to subject)

We met a really awesome guy yesterday! We have a lady in our ward named Bety. Oh my gosh she is the best person ever because you wanna know what she does? She contacts people! In the street! We recieve referrals from her all the time. She gets teary eyed when she talks about missionary work. Anyway, she gave us a referral and we went to go find him yesterday. We knocked, he let us in, introduced us to his kids and his mom, then told us that he had just BARELY watched a video about Joseph Smith's first vision. Talk about AWESOME. Then he told us that it was a miracle that we had found him because he's normally working on Sundays. 

Anyway, so we'll see what happens with him. 

I miss you all and I hope that you had a great Halloween! I didn't get any candy, but we did find some awesome people. 

I love you all! And Happy Election Day tomorrow!.... heh.

Hermana Murset

Picture:
Hermana Mis and I!

Cambios (October 26, 2015) Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico

Hello hello hello.

TRANSFERS ARE HEERREEE. I'm staying in my area, so that's pretty normal. Hermana Roberts and Hermana Cano are leaving me :( I've been telling them all morning that I'm going to feel so alone without them. But my companion is going to be Hermana Mis, the mission's nurse, and she's awesome. But I admit, I'm going to miss my two companions. 

The investigator that decided that I was the Virgen Mary has now decided that Hermana Roberts and I are "Mili" and "Pili." According to him, they are two drops of water that look a lot a like................. He's great.

Also, I am 99% sure that we taught the first lesson to some of the members of Saltillo's biggest gang. It was really spiritual, actually. 

Yeah.... this week was preeetttyy normal. Besides the fact that we got caught in the middle of Hurricane Patricia. We were walking to the chapel to go to a baptism and we almost got washed away. We just got super wet and Hermana Cano (who already had larangitis) got a fever the next day. It was really wild and we didn't know it was a hurricane until we had already gotten soaked by it! And we were wondering why it was so windy and wet all of the sudden...

I AM SO SAD. There is a certian member family here that I love and they had a kitten that I loved. I broke the strong suggestion to NOT pick up animals and I would play with it and hold it all the time. It's name was Pelusha. I was going to take a picture with it today but when we got to the house they told me that it had been stolen. I almost cried and my companions thought I was faking it until I went and bought a whole bunch of Cheetos and ate comfort food while moping on the couch. :( We shall see each other again someday, Pelusha!!!

Well, that's enough about me. 

I love you all!

Pictures:

My lovely zone. Some of them are making weird faces. That's how they look in real life.

1 Year, 4 Days (October 19, 2015) Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico

I was looking through my first mission journal in the morning and I thought it was so amusing that I took down some of the things I wrote and now I am going to share them with you. 

But first I have to write the sister training leader's message for the weekly newletter because I forgot...

Be right back. 

Okay I'm back. 

Quote time.

December 6, 2014

Today I translated "And my father dwelt in a tent." because I learned the verb "to dwell." 

December 5, 2014

Hermana Peñaranda and I are trying to put the missionary lessons to songs. We are not being successful. 

December 7, 2014

I learned the verb "to sneeze" today. "Estornudar" At least I trhink that's it. Anyway, yeah. Spanish is... going. 

December 29, 2014

I've been gone from home for 70-something days. Only 400-something days to go!

February 24, 2014

I have some sick tanlines. It's starting to get really hot. I'm trying to do a mind over matter thing and pretend like I'm in a hot shower, enjoying it. I doubt that will work, but whatever. 

March 2, 2014

I'm tired. The missionary phrase. 

Ooooohhhh the start of the mission. I remember went we started the year of 2015 I thought "This year I'm going to become fluent in Spanish!" That sounded like a ridiculous dream, but hey, I got there. This has been a wild year, but I'm grateful for it. Only a half a year to go!

This week was pretty normal. It was filled with going on splits with sisters who are just barely starting the mission. We went to go eat with a lady that had gone on a mission and she was telling some of her experiences that she had had. But then towards the end she said "The mission was great, but I have never SUFFERED or CRIED as much as I did in that year and a half." She said some other encouraging things and we're just hoping that the new sister missionary wasn't traumatized. 

ALSO. Alicia's son, Cesar, went to church! His testimony is growing super fast. When we gave him The Book of Mormon he told us it was true even before opening it. I hope I stay in my area so I can see him progress! We've been finding all sorts of awesome people. 

On Sunday we went to go pick up a lady that we had just met and taught the day before. She came out in her Sunday best, but then launched into a speech about how her husband didn't want her to go and that he didn't want to go and how she didn't want to be going from church to church and how her son goes to a different church and so on and so forth. She told us all the reasons why she couldn't go and was putting up quite a fight. When she finally stopped to take a breath, we asked her "Soooo.... do you want to come?" and she said "Sure! Let me go get my shoes." 

GAH. 

And that's what happened this week. I love my area. I love my companions. I love the people. I love flour tortillas. I love the mission. And I love YOU. 

Have a great week! 

Picture:

Alicia, me, Cesar, Lety. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. 

One Year!! (October 12, 2015) Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico

Oct 12 at 12:57 PM

So I'm not sure if you're all aware, but on the 15th I'm going to have one year in the mission! WOOOOOOOOOO. I actually haven't thought about it all that much, but that's a pretty long time! On Saturday I felt like an actual missionary for the first time in my mission. I realized where I was, what I was doing, what language I was speaking, and who I was doing it for. It was a really awesome experience. Especially because it was overcast and there was a breeze and it made it a really dramatic and movie-like experience. I'm really grateful for the mission.  I definitely don't regret coming and I know that when the time comes to go... well I still have 6 months, so we'll see how I'm doing then.

So according to a man named Juan, I look like the Virgin Mary. This is what happened:

We found a man named Juan who lives in a shack on top of a hill. We taught him standing up outside of his house (that's when I had the missionary experience) because we couldn't go inside. His wife had died nine months earlier and since then he's really had nothing to his name. Just his clothes, and his shack. We closed the lesson and we getting ready to leave when he said 

"Usted se parece a una virgencita que conozco." 

"You look like a little virgin that I know." 

I didn't really know what to say at that point, but then he continued,

"Ah si! La virgencita Maria."

"Oh! The Virgin Mary." 

I told him that it was probably true, but that my name is Hermana Murset. He wasn't done yet though and he also gave Hermana Roberts the name of "Hermana of Good Works" and then continued to call me "Virgencita Maria." I told him that I had a sister named Maria but that my name is Hermana Murset. He thought the whole sister thing was pretty cool. We invited him to church and left, chuckling at the experience.

And who do we find in church the next day? JUAN. He greeted me,

"VIRGENCITAAA!" 

And I replied

"HERMANA MURSEEET."

Oh the things that happen in the mission. 

I sure am happy to be here though. Even with Saltillo's bipolar weather. Oh my goodness it bugs me. But life must go on! I really am happy to be here and I'm sure glad that I still have 6 more months because I can't imagine going to home now. There are more people to find! More people to talk to! And most importantly, more gorditas to eat. 

I love you all. I really do. Eat some chocolate chip cookies for me because they don't exist here. 

Pictures:

Behind me is Juan's shack. #missionarymoment

A sister got sick and Hermana Roberts and I were on splits so we had to go running around trying to tell each other what to do over the phone and how to get all the sisters to their proper places and who was going to stay with the sister and so on and so forth. STRESS. But it all turned out fine and a lovely picture was the result. 

Mornings.

General Conference Was Awesome. Watch it Now! (October 5, 2015) Saltillo, Mexico

Oct 5 at 12:15 PM

GENERAL CONFERENCE WAS AWESOME. Watch it. Now.

There is a Little Cesars here and we are planning on eating there today. I am super stoked. 

The other week the assistents (how do you spell that...) told us that how we are going to go to every zone in Saltillo and give training. They also made us give training in the leadership counsel we had this past week. I'M NOT CUT OUT FOR THIS. Just kidding I'll get over it soon. 

I have been in heaven eating CHEERIOS for the past week. I know, you're all super excited with me. 

We found a super awesome family the other day. Their 19 year old daughter has had two brain surgeries due to a tumor that they found there. The left side of her body doesn't work and she can't see, but she's super smart and is always excited when we come to teach them. It's amazing to see how a family can come together to help each other through the challenges of life. I love them a lot. 

My grandma passed away a couple weeks ago and going through that has made me realize that we are very privileged to have the gospel and to have the knowledge about the Plan of Salvation. I have met so many people that have had family members die and they honestly have no idea where there loved ones are. It's just a dream or a hopeful thought to think that they will see them again. But I know that I will see my grandma again. I know that our Savior conquered death and all manner of sickness, pain, and sin. I know that when I also pass on, she and my other relatives will be there waiting for me. It's a knowledge that I have and it helps me to know that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me. This gospel is a happy one. I don't have to wonder, because I know.

I love you all! Have a fantastic week!

Picture:

The tejaban (shack) where a recent convert lives. There's a ton of them here.
(I'm a mature young woman.)

A Mass Email to my Family, after Learning my Grandma Passed Away (September 28, 2015) Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico

I figured I would just send a mass email instead of responding to everyone at one time.

Good thing I have a cold because the people here in the cyber don't think it's weird that I'm sniffing up a storm. I'm glad that she passed away peacefully and without pain.

I'm glad she got to see me serve my mission. I'm glad that she was so generous as to pay for my mission. I'm glad that she was such a grateful person. I'm glad that she got to enjoy a good hotdog. (For her birthday celebration with my dad, Uncle Bill and Aunt Nanette.)

Don't worry about me, I'll be fine as long as I'm working :) I know that she's up there looking out for me and looking out for everybody else. I think being on the mission gives me a greater perspective on things and knowing about the Plan of Salvation really helps.

You have no idea how many people are out there that think that the knowledge that we're going to be with our family for forever is just a dream.

I love you tons and I hope you are all well :)

I hope somebody knows how to make grandma eggs...

--

Hermana Murset

The Dark Side of the Moon (September 28th, 2015) Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico

Last night as we were walking home I looked up at the moon and saw that a part of it was black. I thought that was pretty weird, but I kept walking. A few minutes later I looked at it again and it was even more dark. And like a 14th century person with no knowledge of science, I thought: "THE WORLD IS ENDING." But then I realized that what I was seeing was an eclipse, and not the end of the world. 

It was scary. 

Today we are moving houses. BAH. Moving. I never thought I would have to do it, but here I am, wrapping stuff up with newspaper and packing them into boxes. The place that we're moving into is a little house in front of a metal business where they make those chairs that we have in the states that have metal stars. There are security cameras and everything, so I'm pretty sure we're going to be safe. 

Nothing has changed in this week. Hermana Roberts and I still walk fast and Hermana Cano still runs to catch up with us. I caught a cold and I've been suffering, but THE SHOW MUST GO ON. 

Ummmm..... I feel like I have more to say but it's really just been a normal week. A normal week and a Mexican night! They were celebrating the Mexico indepenence day and we dressed up and ate really good tacos. Us missionaries aren't allowed to dance, so we just watched. It was really great. 

I hope you are all well and happy! Be sure to watch General Conference. I hope my mom makes the traditional orange rolls and that President Uchtdorf talks about planes. 

Nos vemos!

Love, Hermana Murset

Pictures:

Hermana Salazar, Hermana Roberts, a random girl that I don't know, Hermana Cano, and Hermana Flores. Noche Mexicana!

The eclipse when it was ending.