Is Merida hot? HAHHAHAHAHAHHAH yes

Okay basically Im just sweating my life away everyday, and this is their cold season. Yes, prayers would be appreciated. No, its been hot but it hasnt actually bugged me much, tender mercies people!

Okay people, let me tell you, a mission is not easy, sometimes I feel really defeated and dont know how I can really do this whole thing for 18 months, but then I pray for help and comfort, and EVERY single time I have received that help. I look back on the day, and wonder when I started feeling so much better and happy. 

We have a baptism the 23rd of November!! We taught a brief lesson with this investigator, then I had divisions and was in another area for the day my companion extended the invitation, but we had another lesson with him and hes accepted!!! MIRACLES! 

Some cool little things about the mission. 1. I have gotten really good at not scratching mosquito bites. 2. Everyone sleeps in hammock here, theres built in holes and hooks in the wall to hang up hammocks, and ive decided, I love sleeping in a hammock. 3. A family took us out to eat and knew I was from Texas so they took us to TEXAS ROADHOUSE and I let out the biggest gasp, and I may or may not have been singing along to the country songs there. oops, ill repent later. It was so nice just sitting in a car and restaurant and eating those ROLLS ugh. 4. The hermanas arent really working if they dont get blisters the size of their mission their first 2 or 3 weeks 

I was reading Preach My Gospel and it said, enjoying the gifts of the Spirit should be one of your most earnest desires, and I think that applies to all of us. Enjoy the spirit, enjoy this blessed gift from God! 

Also my companion and I were talking about how so often, the last house you knock on is the one that needs your message. Our last house was an English speaker, a less active member who is having a lot of troubles and pain right now, she said she wanted nothing to do with the church right now but I insisted that we wanted to help her, thats our job. We stopped by a few days later, and she wasnt home, so we left a note saying we love her. Today, we got a referal for this same person, and she wants us to come teach her. How interesting that our last house just happens to be someone I can speak to in english? Not a coincidence at all. God prepares people for you, you have to find them.

I hope everyone is doing well, please email me if you need anything! Thank you for your emails!!!!! Until next week!

Hermana Shirley 

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Shaved legs and Wheel Chairs

Elders are something else arent they

The elders came in to class saying they shaved their legs last night but one elder decided to leave what he chose to call, a racing stripe, on his leg because it looked cool apparently, dont worry, theres a picture. He said, wow isnt it glorious, its like a mohawk for your legs.

Another elder had to get his toe cut open to remove an ingrown toe nail and he was walking on it so much it wouldnt stop bleeding so they put him in a wheelchair, but he hates the attention, so all the other elders have been practicing their wheelchair wheelies and trying to play hackysack while sitting in it. Theres never a dull moment in district 6A I can say that much for sure. 

Every night my comp and I sing hymns at night with another district were tight with, and it always ends our night on a high note. 

General conference was so good, especially Sunday Morning! If you havent had a chance, go to churchofjesuschrist.org and give it a watch! 

This past week we had a temproary companion exchange and I was with a latina. We taught a lesson together, and then we took turns teaching each other, she complimented my spanish and I was able to understand everything she said. Ive realized with certain things I dont have to translate to english in my head anymore, Im just able to hear and undersatnd which is a huge blessing, but I have a LONG way to go. 

I found out that everyone in my mission, including the natives, sleep in hammocks, because if you dont, you can become dehydrated in your sleep and pass out from the heat, SO they give us hammocks to help prevent that. Apparently many people in our area have to take bucket showers and wash their clothes by hand in a bucket, so Ill be a pro at both when I come back! But because I wont have a device and will have to find public computers to email, shop for food,  and have to hand do my laundry, emails will probably be shorter and less frequent. Apparently the Mayan influence is stronger in my area than I thought! My teacher said Ill have a weird accent when I come back because the people have an odd one, and that they speak Mayan and Spanish there. An elder had a brother who served in the same area, and he said his brother was able to read the Book of Mormon in Mayan by the time he came back! I probably cant speak it, but I might be able to understand it! Ive heard that a lot of Mayan people are very humble, and thus are interested in hearing about our Gospel and will have quite a few investigators. Thats the hope!

I leave on Monday at 2 AM for my mission, so my days here at the good old CCM are coming to a close, Ill miss it honestly, but Im so ready for this next chapter!

Also I got the official CCM Mexican skirt in the attached picture so Im about ready to graduate!

I want each of you to read Doctorine and Covenenants 122. It only had 9 verses and is very short, but I LOVE verse 7. Please take a read, you wont regret it!!!

Since this is my last longer email for a while I want to leave you with a few things. I have felt Gods love for me and for all of his children so very much. I have seen how important it is to rely on the spirit to help you teach, we truly need Gods help in all things. I was teaching with my companion to our teacher who was pretending to be an investigator about the Restoration of the church. During it, I recited the first vision in Spanish from memory and suddenly I felt the spirit so strongly. I thought it was just me, but afterwards my teacher and my companion both asked me if I felt the spirit as strong as they did. In that moment I felt the power of those words, and the absolute truth of the work of the pioneers. I have felt the power of prayer. This entire church was restored through a prayer of a FOURTEEN year old boy. If a fourteen year old Joseph Smith can begin the restoration of this church through a single prayer, imagine what ours can do. I have seen time and time again, when I pray for something, that exact thing happens. Of course, we dont always receive immediate answers, and sometimes our answers are not the answers we want, but we recieve answers nonetheless. I love this church, I love this work, I love the trials I have been given and who God has helped me grow into. 

Please let me know if any of you need any prayers. 

Hermana Shirley 

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