Have you ever been so hot that you've bled from your eyes?

I really hope that title sufficiently freaked mom out. No, I did not bleed from my eyes. But a poor sister from Canada that just arrived here 2 weeks ago did. Apparently the change in climate was so drastic her body couldn't handle it and she started bleeding buckets of blood, but the blood couldn't leave fast enough, so it started seeping out of her eyes as well. 

Also they found a car full of dead bodies in the area of some Hermanas in Caborca. Just another day en la frontera de Mexico. How have you guys been?

Bahia, Guaymas is awesome. Our ward is pretty much impossible, and we're not going to baptize anyone in this transfer, and probably not the next one either. Or the next. Because this ward is, like, dead. We have to actually save the members and keep the ward floating before we can start anything else. You can't build a building if your foundation doesn't even exist. But it's been good. 

Hermana Boitel is awesome. We have a good time and work hard. The Elders in our ward are.... interesting Elder Ensey is a black wrestling champion from Oregon and Elder Contreras from the ranches of Celaya, Mexico. Whew. You never did meet such a pair of intelligent, complicated, powerful set of Elders. They have extremely strong personalities and quite a bit of pride. This ward has all the potential and tools in the world... but it's going to be extremely difficult, especially trying to balance all the strong personalities, but we are determined to build this ward from literally the dirt up. 

I keep seeing commercials and promotion for The Fault in Our Stars movie.That's been more difficult than it should be. :P Also, I eat sea food now. I've lost count of how many times I've had octopus, not to mention everything else. Our area is pretty interesting because it's right on the ocean, so we teach a lot of sea men, and also quite a few naval men as well. Everyone seems to be either in the navy or working on private ships. It's a completely different culture that anything I've ever experienced. The ocean is a 5 minute walk from our house! But I love it. 

NOTICIAS! I've been mistaken for a Mexican. It all started when I got here and everyone we talked to said I had a really good accent. And then we were at a multi zone conference and one of the APs was like, how many months do you have here? Your Spanish is excellent. And then one day we were walking in the dark, and we started talking to some people, and they asked where I was from, and I said Utah, and we kept on talking for awhile, and then they were like, wait wait wait, but you're North American, right? And I was like, well yeah. And they were like, how strange, because your accent it almost perfect. 

But then my pride started to grow and it was bad.

I'm no where near close to perfect, though. Yeesh. I have a Dominican companion, and I can understand about 50% of what she says. Her words are all weird, and she speaks through her nose. Love her to death, but I definitely prefer Mexican Spanish. 

Bueno. I have to go, which is really too bad because I always have more to say... but it's cool. There's always next week. I hope you all are doing well, enjoying your climate, and loving each other.

Hasta luego!

Hermana Day

I'M IN GUAYMAS WITH A DOMINICAN COMPANION

She's awesome. Now that I've opened this letter, I can't remember what I was going to write. This always happens on Pday. Anyways, I have an awesome companion who has a buttload of months in the mission and a really awesome reputation and I'm super excited because I have been given this opportunity to learn a ton and become a super awesome missionary. Shes's from the Dominican Republic and speaks absolutely no English, so I'll learn more Spanish fast. There are only 2 other American sisters here in Guaymas, so no more English for me. But seriously, my Spanish is going well. I just need to expand my vocabulary so I can speak more eloquently (dear heavens I've forgotten how to spell), and practice identifying every single word that people say so I can understand 100%, not like 85% or 90%. :P Yeshhhhhh I am so excited! Also I am excited because I am ON THE OCEAN. It's ridiculously, ridiculously humid here, with the heat of Hermosillo, so I live in a state of constant wetness, but it's all cool. 

Speaking of heat, did you know that Hermosillo reached over 53C last week? It topped the charts for the hottest place on earth. Yes, I was living, walking, and breathing in a place hotter than Death Valley, hotter than the Sahara. I'm not sure exactly what 53C is in F, but I know it's over 120F. We died. 

Things have been great, though. Our favorite family was all baptized, which is definitely the most beautiful thing I've seen on this mission. The dad was hilarious. Sunday night his wife and kids were baptized, and something changed in him. He went home, waited until everyone was asleep, and then started reading the Book of Mormon. When we came to visit, he had read 10 chapters, and was like, yeah, I would like to get baptized, and I recieved an answer and I know this is true, it's just a lot of responsibility, this covenant, and I have a little bit of fear. IT WAS SO COOL. He was baptized the following Saturday. It was terrible to leave this family, and Barrio Pueblitos, but I really feel good about what I did in that area, and that we left it much better that when we arrived. And now I'm in Hawaymas. Haha. That's what the people call it- like Hawaii and Guaymas. It's freaking hot and humid, and now I have to learn how to eat sea food, which is total karma, but it's all cool. I'm excited. 

Honestly I can't remember what else I was going to say. I hope you are all doing well and enjoying your beautiful temperatures in your respective parts of the world. Also, that you all live in green places. I am sorry that I never seen to write anyone back. I get annoyed emails quite frequently. Sometimes I'm really good, other times I'll go for weeks or months without writing someone. No, I promise I have not forgotten about any of you, and you will get an email. :P Disculpeme. :D

Until next week! 

Hermana Day

PS Literally sorry this email is so pathetic. Hopefully my previous letter makes up for it. :P