Week 44 - December 22nd - The very best time of year

To quote a friend, I thought Christmas was months away. And then I blinked. 

This week was our Christmas activity with the zone and as such, I need to thank the Activity day girls in the Hedges Creek ward, because they inspired us to make the dresses that we gave to our zone as part of the activity. (Hermana C was sick on Tuesday so we entertained ourselves nicely with folding and decorating). 

As part of the activity, we had a variety show - Hermana Coronado and I ended up on stage a few more times then planned. We presented how to make the paper dresses, sang with the elders in our ward (it was goofy. Expect no appearances on Mexico's got talent from us) and did a sketch with the assistances about the differences between Elders and Sisters. 

It was a lovely day full of laughter and cheer and Christmas joy for all to hear. And after the tostadas for lunch, it culminated in going to the temple. That was the best part. No where else is anything like it. 

I love the lights at this time of year. I love the togetherness at this time of year. I love that of everything I could be doing around now, I get to talk to people about my Savior every day. What better way to celebrate His birth than invite others to come to know Him? 

Have an even lovelier week than normal. Know that I love where I am, what I'm doing, and I love how much I see the Lord's influence in my life every single day. He always helps us do what we need to do, even when what we're expecting when we follow those impressions is different from the result. 

I love my Savior. I love His Gospel, and I love being a missionary. 

Hermana Juliana

Week 43 - December 15th - This Week in Mexico

I learned that I'm going to become more photogenic this transfer. My new companion, Hermana Coronado, likes taking pictures and looks good in them (she's quite a fashionable person). What I love about pictures is remembering upon looking at them the story of what was going on, and where we were, and everything else that went into getting us to that precise moment for someone to click a button and capture a small snapshot of our personal history.

What we see in the people around us are also snapshots. Our daily interactions with people are so brief in comparison with the time our spirits have existed and developed and learned. I love our area book (where we keep track of people's contact information and what we've taught them) as a missionary because it provides a tiny glimpse of what some of these people have experienced with the Gospel. We don't know what people have experienced or what they are experiencing (those things don't show up in photos) but one thing I do is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is what we all need. 

Pictures are static. The pictures I have when I had braces and too-short bangs that I cut myself in middle school don't accuratly represent who I am now. Give people the chance to move beyond the snapshot you have of them. 

There's my two cents. This week we discovered a set of cliffs because the plants that had been hiding them had been cleared out. We also spent Saturday in Plaza Crystal (a mall) inviting everybody to watch Él es la Dádiva. If you haven't seen it, go to christmas.mormon.org right now! Almost all of the missionaries in the city were there, and a choir from all three stakes was there as well. It was really fun. 

Have  lovely week!

Hermana Juliana

Week 42 - December 8th, 2014 - Sewing, sewing, and exchanges, (And transfers, too)

It was a pretty busy week.

 So here's the news: After three weeks of learning about why Superman is actually pretty cool and laughing A LOT, and speaking much too much English, Hermana Van is going to San Cristobal. My new companion´s name is Hermana Coronado.

This week we worked on a project that the assistants gave us - making costumes for a Nativity that will be part of the mission Christmas activity. It was thoroughly enjoyable. We went fabric shopping with Sister George, then spent the better part of a day sewing in the mission home. I like sewing, because you see the process of making something, acheiving something. I never liked at home having to press and measure (mostly the pressing) because I felt like it was slow and boring, but I know now that those small steps are essential to a clean finished product.

For example, Hermana Cook (the tall blonde super adorable one on the end in the second picture) is MASTER violinist. She can listen to a song she has never heard before and begin playing it. That's the end result of 11 years of study, and practice, and she's still going to get better and better because she will continue to practice. Not once a week or just whenever, but consistently and diligently.

The Lord gives us so many opportunities to make ourselves better - every day we make decisions and can become a different, better person. He doesn't expect us to do it by ourselves, or even quickly, but He will help us get where He needs us to be, and become WHO He needs us to be. 

Have a lovely week, and remember who you are. He created EVERYTHING, and asks us to call Him Father, of all the titles he could have chosen. 

Love,

Hermana Juliana

Week 41 - December 1st, 2014 - Who's on the Lord side?

Hi everybody!

Happy December, the Christmas season has begun. Put up your lights and be happy, and always, always remember who's name is in Christmas.

There aren't many things better than seeing people change - sometimes they are small changes, sometimes they are large, and sometimes you don't even see the full impact of the change while you are there with someone. Sometimes the change is just a light coming on in their eyes, or remembering something they used to know, like happened with a family who hasn't been to church in years that we visited this week. 

The Christmas season is a time when we get to specifically remember the one who makes it possible for us to change. We can become more like Him everyday - and we can forgive those around us who are also imperfect, and striving. 

Enjoy the first week of December! 

Love,

Hermana Juliana

Week 40 - November 24, 2014 - Just relax

This week was lovely. For the first time in months and months, I went to the temple. I love being there. Need I say more?

I was also able to work with my lovely friend Hermana Zúñiga. She was my sister training leader in Tapachula and I just love her to pieces. She was actually here in Teran 6 months ago, so while she was here we passed by to visit a couple of people she had taught. One of them I had met, and had very politely turned us down. But when Hermana Zúñiga showed up, she got really excited to see her and let us in, and we were able to answer some of her doubts and questions. That is something that never would have happened without her. The best part is that the original plan was not for hermana Zúñiga to come, but we changed it last minute. The Lord puts us where we need to be to help His children in the way he knows they need it.

I know that the Lord puts us where He needs us when He needs us, and that sometimes we won't even know until much later.

Also, I just realized that it is Thanksgiving this week. Be grateful. Life is full of things to be grateful for: including members who give us ice cream and rides, lasagna for the first time in a year (not for me, Hermana Van. She was super excited).

Love,

Hermana Juliana

P.S. Not all of the things I'm grateful for are food, but it's harder to describe moments than plates.

Week 39 - November 17, 2014 - The email I just got that made my week.

'Great news!  The area is progressing great here, we currently have 10 investigators with baptismal dates.  Noel and Lupita have a baptismal date for Novemeber 29th and Hermano Jorge will baptize them.  Victor Lopez also has a date for the 29th and his brother Carlos will baptize him, I am so excited for them!  Leyli and her girls accepted baptismal dates and Romina did as well, Guadeloupe and Gonzalo too (don't worry I will send lots of pictures).'

This came from Hermana Peine. I know all of these people, and they are families that I love. I can´t even express how incredible this news is. The connections we make are eternal and I CAN'T WAIT to see these people again. It's just a matter of time before they'll be here in Tuxtla coming to the temple, too. The Lord loves us. He lets us know and love so many people, because He knows it's what we need.

In news about me, I have another new companion. Her name is Hermana Van Valkenberg, (also known as Hermana Van) from South Jordan Utah. She's hilarious, and can sing like an angel, and smart as a whip. 

I love being a missionary. It fills me up like nothing else on the planet can.

Have a wonderful week. Mine started out on the best note it possibly can. 

Hermana Juliana

P.D. The young woman in the middle has been going to church for years and was taught by just about everyone in the mission  (ok, but not quite, but all of the elders who passed through her town before she moved to Tuxtla) including Elder Peterson, the obviously American elder. The monday I arrived she told us, yeah, I'm ready to take that step. She's just darling. And her mom always gives us candy :) 

Week 38 - November 10, 2014 - Teamwork

You have a team. Did you know that? It might be a team of two, a team of twenty, and you might have lots of different teams. But you have a team. So work with your team.

 

This week was several different meetings, and lots of needing our various team. Our team here in Terán is the ward. They are willing and ready to play, but we had to ask for their help first. I'm super grateful for my team, especially because even though as players some times we mess up, our coach never ever ever will. He knows who He needs where and when, and how to pick us up when we're down.

 

Like I said, we had several meetings this week. One of them was zone conference! (all the missionaries in the stake). AND our stake is 1) HUGE and 2) almost entirely sisters. See attached photo. Seriously, it's nuts. But the picture is more colorful than suits and ties so that's a plus.

 

Depend on your team. Trust them. Get to know who they are and communicate your needs.

 

Have a lovely week! (and count how many times I said the word team in here - I'm not sure but it was a lot).

 

Hermana Juliana