High Desert Winter

Hey everyone,

Did you know that in winter, deserts are really cold? Of course, I was completely aware of this before the mission, but for some reason I didn't remember when I was planning and packing for the mission, and only focused on how hot it was going to be. 

Well now it's freaking cold.

Literally, we just can't catch a break here in Sonora. When it's not 130F, it's 30F. There seems to be no inbetween. It's not too fun here, though, because nobody here has any sort of heat. Our house is built out of cement blocks and has no heating whatsoever. I sleep with 3 heavy blankets, and in a sweatshirt and sweats, so at night it's fine, but in the morning when we have to get dressed and study outside of our warm beds. :(

Christmas here was pretty interesting. Talking to the family was awesome, of course, although everyone needs to quit reminding me about how soon I get back. :( I don't want to leave! It was awesome to see everyone though, and everyone seems gigantic (in a good way). Christmas Eve dinner was pretty average. Nothing in comparasion to the Scandanavian feast that mom always creates, but we're used to suffering in the mission, so it's all good. :P Haha! Christmas in Mexico basically consists of lots of beer, loud music, parties, etc. Not exactly my kind of scene, but they seem to enjoy it. They also dance a lot. Latinos are always dancing. I was planning on sending a bunch of pictures of what went down, but the computer that I'm using doesn't want to read my memory card. So pictures will have to wait until next week.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas, as well as the snow dump that everyone's been writing me about (trying not to feel trunky here). 

This Christmas I feel like I really actually understood what Christmas is all about. We kind of took the role of everyone in the Christmas story, and it was pretty cool. We knocked on doors like Joseph and nobody had any room or time to recieve us. We came from far away countries like the wise men to share our precious gifts of the gospel. We watched over our flocks of investigatores and members and less actives like the shepards and recieved the news of Jesus Christ with them. We sang to everyone we came in contact with, sharing the good news of Christ's birth like the angels who sang good tidings of great joy. And in a small way we were like the Christ child, young and innocent, watched over and protected by everyone else who knew we had a great work to do. 

This Christmas was different. We didn't have presents, or our families, or the food we're used to, or any of that stuff, but I was happy. Honestly we don't need any of the things that we usually focus on during Christmas. We just need the love of God and the peace of the gospel. (And our families, of course, but for that reason we got to talk to them on Christmas.) It sounds simple, but being on a mission in Mexico has taught me that it's actually true. I've become a little disenchanted with everything that exists in the States, and I'm just starting to realize how little everything that we have matters, and the things that really matter the most. 

I love you all, and I hope you all have a wonderful New Year! 

Love,

Hermana Day

Big Changes

Well hello all. This week has been a week of big changes. Here we go.

First off, let's just get it out and over with that tomorrow I turn 20. Thanks for all the emails reminding me how old I am. Honestly, it's truly terrifying. As mom said, I never in a million years expected to spend my 20th birthday in Mexico. Well... moving on. :P

Other changes include that I am now in Hermosillo and not in Guaymas. This is probably the biggest change I've had so far in the mission, and it's been a little difficult. I was born in the north of Hermosillo, but honestly I never became super attached to that area because I was new and didn't know anything. :P But Guaymas was the place where I florished and grew and became the missionary that I am now... so it was super hard to leave. The members all cried, I cried too. It was... super sad. Like, I can't even explain so I'm not even going to try. 

So now I'm in Hermosillo. Which... sort of sucks, to be completely honest. Hermosillo is a huge city with tons of pollution, dirt, cars, a ridiculous amount of people, and lots of busy, bad attitudes. Haha. Also, the climate here is way drier than Guaymas because, well, I'm not living 2 seconds from the ocean every day, so my skin has really dried out and now it looks terrible. But everyone still loves me because everyone just automatically loves white people for some reason, so it's all good. 

Other changes include the quantity and quality of cat calls we've recieved... my companion is a short feisty (FEISTY) Dominican (again, I have another Dominican companion. I'm fairly certain that President always puts me with the Dominicans because I'm the only Hermana that has the eternal patience to handle their black sassy attitudes) who has this super cute figure and so that, combined with the fact that I am a blue eyed American calls for a lot of problems. This week has been worse than the entirety of my mission before. Yesterday was the first time I had actually been followed for a significant amount of time. Thank goodness I don't have blonde hair like Hermana Hansen in Chiapas, because the blonde American sisters here always have problems here and have to get special transfers to areas far, far away where their stalkers can't find them.

I feel like I'm freaking mom out again. Don't worry mom, I'm perfectly fine. The thing about being a white girl in Mexico is that after awhile you figure out how the system here works and can avoid the majority of the situations. With those you can't avoid, you learn real quick how to get yourself out of them. :D

Another change is that now it is super cold here. I guess I forgot the most important rule of deserts: they're either super hot, or super cold. Well, now we've entered the super cold period, and the drastic change in climate sort of killed me, so I'm a little sick. The good news is that I bought a good thick black sweater today, so that should hold me over for the winter. 

We also changed our house. Obviously. When we arrived, it was disgusting. Elders that are reading this, I have a thing or two to say to you. CLEAN YOUR FREAKING HOUSES. We know how terribly dirty they are because when we arrive at your old house and have to clean it, it's literally the most disgusting thing I've ever seen (this happened in Guaymas too). Also, your area books always suck. Fix them up, because they are completely useless. 

Yeah. That was my rant. 

Also, apparently it was Thanksgiving this week. I didn't realize until it was about 10 minutes to 9 on Thusday, and my companion was like, hey, isn't today like your day of actions of thanks or something? (That's how they say it in Spanish here.) And I was like, yeah... that's right... And we didn't have time to go by turky meat or anything, and the hot dog stand outside our house was closed... so we didn't do anything for Thanksgiving. Yup.

Also, speaking of changes, my brother Jed is literally the spitting image of dad when he was in high school. I was absoluely shocked with the picture dad send me of the kids. (The almost life-size cardboard cut out of me did add a nice touch I must say.) But seriously, everyone is gigantic. I'm not sure what's going on up there in Utah, but everyone needs to stop changing and go back to being small because I'm not prepared to come back to the house and have my three little siblings be raging hormonal teenagers. Haha :P

Well, there we go. Christmas is coming, and it still looks like summer here. Palm trees, green everywhere, sun... It's a little strange without snow. Speaking of snow, my last words in this email are thus: for those of you that would truly like to honor me and my beloved birthday while I am here in Mexico suffering without snow, I command (or invite, whichever offends you the least) you to sluff school or work, or both, and go skiing. I MISS SKIING SO MUCH. Trunky, trunky...

Love, 

Hermana Day

PS. I expect pictures from everyone this next Monday of their adventures in the mountains on my birthday. Thank you.

Hello outside world

You know, it's always sort of amusing how people seem to think missionaries live in a bubble of happiness and joy, trying to indoctrinate everyone with their messages so we can all live happy lives like swaying flowers in beautiful fields of gold.

The mission isn't like that.

Honestly, I'm convinced that as missionaries we get a view of how the world is more clearly than perhaps anyone else. We live to serve and lift and help others, and with that we enter into all walks of life, hear all sorts of terrible things, see all sorts of terrible things, and suddenly the rose colored glasses that our parents raised us with are ripped from our faces and we see the world for what it really is. 

The good news, though, is that the church is true. There's a cure for all this, and there's actually a purpose to all the suffering too. God has a plan, and while that plan may be impossible to understand at times, the good news is that this life was never suppose to be guided by pure knowledge in the first place. We're here so we can learn faith and humility.

Well, some of you might already know this, but I'm at the half way point in my mission. On 5 of November, I will have completed 9 months, and I will have 9 months more to go. The time has gone by ridiculously fast, and truthfully much of it is meloncholy and bittersweet, but I'm also content that I used these 9 months wisely, and that I'll use the rest of the 9 months I still have to continue serving the Lord. 

I've learned a lot of things while I've been here, but honestly I'm not sure how much good it would do to make a laundry list of them all here. The things I have really learned are things that have been integrated into my being. I'm not sure how to explain them in coherent thoughts or sentences, but I do know that I've changed. 

I guess the number one thing I've learned is love. Everything else really in secondary to that first eternally principle. Really, nothing works without love. It is the motor behind this work, the motor behind everything that God does. It is what keeps us, as missionaries going through the hardest days of our missions. It is also what keeps this world going despite all the terrible things that happen. It is the strongest source of energy we have, and everything we do should stem from the love we have for God, and for our fellow man. The purpose of our life is to learn that really, it's not our life. 

Well, I love you all. I am grateful for your support, your prayers, your words of encoragement, everything. I'm grateful for my parents, who really did raise me right. I'm ridiculously proud of them. :D And I'm greatful for God, who gave me this life as an opportunity to learn how to serve him. 

Cuidense mucho,

Hermana Day

Hello world. Today I'm not going to write anything, but instead send you some of the photos you've been asking for for months. Here we go. 

Hello Everyone

Dear goodness. I don't know where to begin, or even what to write. But here is my sort-of weekly email. We'll start with the easy stuff first.

We found a 9 inch long centipede in our house. I cannot explain how terrifyingly fat and gigantic it was. Its pinchers, stinger thingie was about an inch, inch and a half long. I don't know if I have ever been so scared in my entire life. Of course, it also had the amazing attribute of running very, very fast. So we opened the front door, and, screaming, tried to push it with a broom out of our house. The neighbors came running and took over, and we were saved. That was definitely the most terrifying moment in my mission. Knife fights, gangs, cholos, cartels, police, etc., nah. Nothing compares with giant centipedes. Remember in the 2nd Star Wars movie how the bounty hunter puts the two giant centipedes in the room of Padme? Yeah, that's how I felt. The broom was our lightsaber.

Speaking of Star Wars, I finally figured out why the DF Mexico Temple looks so strange and familiar- it looks like the Jedi temple in Star Wars. Call me crazy, but I'm serious about this. DF Mexico Temple is actually the Jedi Temple. Just saying.

These past few weeks have been... interesting. Basically, that word is just what I'm going to use to describe my entire mission to obmit any unecessarily negative adjectives. :P First off, every other day we get hurricane warnings and everyone freaks out and school is cancelled and then nothing happens. It's a vicious cycle. This last Sunday all the boats and ships were suppose to leave for the season, which has basically meant that everyone has been super, super busy. There were fishermen in every street mending their nets, and everyone from carpenters to secretaries were working to send the boats out. It's an extremely complicated process that requires the efforts of the entire city. They were suppose to leave Sunday, which meant that a lot of people weren't in church. Ah well. However, due to the hurricane that's spinning around the Sea of Cortez, they couldn't actually leave, which sent everyone for a loop. Stay tuned.

It's raining right now, which is so incredibly nice. Our new zone is not my favorite, but it's improved from last transfer, so that's been nice. The poor Elders got robbed again, and they also found bikes which haven't been stolen yet, which is a step up from every other story about bikes I've heard in this mission. Also, tonight is El Grito, which basically means that everyone and their dog will be drinking in the streets.It's actually the night of Independence Day, but any holiday in Mexico just means that everyone is going to drink themselves to death. This, and the supposed ''hurricane'' that we never see has caused President to order everyone in their houses at 7pm tonight. Which doesn't mean much to some areas because they have to be in their houses at that time anyways, but whatever. I can clock in a good few hours of studying.

Updates on me: I've finally solidifying the present subjunctive tense, which has been giving me fits for quite a few months now. I absolutely LOVE Spanish. It's is a perfect language. So much more beautiful and complete than English. Past Subjunctive is still hurting, though, so that's what I'll be working on for the next few weeks. Physically, I'm fatter, but fine. I can eat anything, on the streets or in the house, and it won't do anything to me. Score! Unfortunately, it's an attribute all the Americans have to absorb. Emotionally, I'm exhausted, but chugging along. Sometimes we thrive, sometimes we can't do anything but survive. Spiritually, I have never been better! I love this gospel, and I love this work. I love being a missionary and helping other people grow and progress in their life to realize the same eternal truths I know to be true. I love the way that God teaches me, and other people. It's never in the way I expect; always in a better way. Can we just take a moment to appreciate that it's a perfect being that runs this show? Imagine if it was a human, or something. Life would be a disaster. But the good news is that God is in charge and knows us completely. He knows exactly what we need, and the best way to give it to us. Sometimes, when my faith is weak, I remind myself to have faith in the faith that God has in me, in His plan for me, and in His infinite love. It helps a lot. 

I love you all, and I hope that this letter finds you happy, healthy, and well. 

Love,

Hermana Day

Hello all

Welcome to another day in beautiful Sonora! 

That was sarcasm. 

But really, I do love my mission. Not for any of the reasons I thought I would, or any of the reasons that other people seem to love their missions, but I love it here. I love learning about the gospel, I love progressing in my faith and knowledge, and I love helping other people progress as well. Such is the life of a missionary! 

I've really been enjoying all the emails I recieve every week from all my friends around the world. I recieve so much strength from all your experiences and faith. I don't actually know if any of you read this email, but I read all of yours, and here is a shout of from Mexico, to everyone else. I love you guys, I pray for you everyday. Sometimes the days aren't so difficult when one remembers that there are thousands upon thousands of us fighting every day in every part of the world. Also, for those of you who are recieving this email for the first time, it's because I stole your emails off the lists of other missionaries' emails. I hope you're doing well, and I'd love to hear from you. 

Also, does anyone have Sammi Lew's email? Can someone send it to me, or get on her facebook and then give it to me? I would assume it's just sammi.lew@myldsmail.net, but who knows. 

This week was full of lots of learning experiences, like every week, of course. Hermana Boitel and I have been really diving into our studying, learning a ton about everything. She's in the Isaiah chapters of 2 Nephi, which are always fun, and I study the Bible at night, which basically just means that I start reading where I'm at in the New Testament, and then get all caught up in the Topical Guide and Bible Dictionary, and end up reading that for the rest of the night. Seriously, though, Bible Dictionary is gold. We also have a few scripture scholars in our ward who are AWESOME. One of my favorite things to do right now is find a question that I have about doctrine, then study study study in the scriptures, then discuss it with my companion, study more, study together, discuss with scripture scholars, repeat. 

Of course, I can see everyone shaking their head at me and saying, and what, Hermana Day, does this have to do with your purpose as a missionary? Well, I'll tell you what. 

Everything that I've learned in this past week, in this mission, in the study of the scriptures, in everything, comes down to a few basic eternal principles. Everything we teach, everything we live for is centered around progression. The entire Plan of Salvation is just a big plan of progession, and the center of that plan is Jesus Christ. We have to fall to rise, to grow. We had to come to this earth, and we have to make mistakes. We have to sin. If we don't, we don't learn, and we can't progress. But the Atonement is absolutely necessary to cleanse us from all of this evil so that we can return back to the presence of God. Everything that the scriptures seem to talk about, every symbolism that they seem to make, seems to be caught up in all this. The gospel that we teach is nothing more than the way that people can be cleansed from their sins so that they can return to God and inherit eternal life. That's the entire symbolism of Israel, captivity and freedom. Physically, yes, but more importantly, spiritually. It's something that I still don't fully understand, but it's something beautiful. The Atonement is infinite and absolutely essential. If Christ didn't pay for all the crap that has happened in this world, there would never be any other way for any of this to work. We couldn't progress, we couldn't be cleansed, we could never leave to captivity of our sins. I don't know if you've heard, but it's kind of a big deal. 

And that, in a nut shell, is what we try and help people understand. Yes, our message is pretty. Sure, it will bless your life and your family. Yes, we know it's true. But these things are temporal. Infinitely more important is that your salvation depends on it. We want you to be baptized not because we just want to baptize, but because we know it's the only way you can truly apply the Atonement in your life to cleanse yourself from sin, to change your will to that of God's, and all of this so that you can learn and progress and return to his presence. It's kind of important. Actually, it's really important. It's more important than life and death. It's eternity. 

To close, I'd just like to say that the scriptures are absolutely amazing. We don't realize the wealth of knowledge that we hold in our hands. If you have questions, the answers are all in there. Literally. I really don't know how to express my love for the scriptures. I just hope that everyone can read them and feel this same joy that I want to share with everyone I meet. If you're not studying your scriptures, study them! Don't read them. That accomplishes absolutely nothing. You have to study, and study deeply. 

From a tiny internet shop in Bolevard Benito Juarez in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico, Earth,

Hermana Day

You can't ever learn to be brave if only wonderful things happen to you.

It's been 3 weeks since I've sent out an email. I would ask for your forgiveness, but that implies that I've repented, which implies that I have forsaken this sin and will commit it no more, which is probably a lie because it's sort of inevitable that this will happen again, so everyone will have to deal with a simple, "I'm sorry".

These last few weeks in Guaymas have been, well, interesting. We had transfers, and lost all the awesome Elders in our zone and recieved a bunch of mediocre ones. That was pretty sad. We haven't been having the success I had hoped for when I came here, and that's been a bit hard as well. However, we were in a giant earthquake yesterday, and that was terrifyingly fun. The people reckon it was around a 5.0 or 6.0 earthquake. Yeesh. We were in the church in the morning, and suddenly the whole church was moving up and down and around for about 10 seconds. It was absolutely terrifying, and took awhile for everyone to calm down, but luckily the church is built very strongly, and we're all good and safe. 

Lately, I've been focusing on what it means to be a missionary, and how I can be a better one. Heaven knows that I'm nowhere near completing with the potential I have, and aside from being extremely frustrating, it's made me comtemplate a lot of things, and work hard to be better. Here are the thoughts that have been running through my head, that will hopefully be useful to some somewhere, and if not, at least they can provide some small entertainment for someone happening across my blog. 

Many times we make the mistake of thinking that we can become something simply be being in a situation or environment that we believe cultivates this thing we want to integrate into our being. What we don't seem to realize is that being is not a stale, dormate state of existance. It requires action and decisions; diligence, consistency, and desire. We can never become something if we don't first make the decision to work hard towards becoming. 

A mission call, or even a setting apart, does not a missionary make. We can spend our entire missions hoping to become the missionary we always envisioned and never make it. The problem originates when missionaries make the mistake of assuming that time and experience will cultivate a good missionary. This is not true. Time and experience can create a person that appears, act, and maybe talks like a missionary, but this person is not a missionary. 

Missionaries are created with careful study and application of doctrine, advice, and all types of teaching and instruction that one can recieve. When a missionary actively integrates all of these things into their being, more and more he comes to one great conclusion, one eternal truth: only God can shape and mold us into the people we have the potential to become, but He can only do this through our agency, as we allow Him to do it. Humility and consecration are two of the most important attributes a person, and especially a missionary, can develop. To be a missionary, we have to learn to do everything in the manner that God wants us to. We have to concecrate ourselves to Him. If we don't, we cannot ever truly become His missionaries.

A concecrated missionary is the missionary that almost everyone invisions, but never becomes. We expect to just arrive at being in this state as a missionary, but it is not so. We have to study, understand, and apply these things, and then work and work and work to actively sacrifice our will and desires to the great will and desire of God. 

Signing off,

Hermana Day