April 25 - New Companion in Estaca Lerma and saying goodbye to everyone

My new companion!

I'm in the Estaca Lerma, in a new little rama that's called Aeropuerto. Should be good! back in the pueblos! Our house is super nice so that's cool. and I'm excited to be in a small branch again.

I saw one of the converts of Ixtapan today during cambios, that was really cool. :) miss it!

The Salgueros

I can't tell you how much I've learned from this family.

and they are probably the ones that I'm MOST excited for you to meet. El Hermano speaks English too so that will be good. and Hermana Sheila understands it too.

Hermano Salguero worked 10 years giving tours to members and nonmembers of archaeological sites all around mexico.  he knows SO much about the Book of Mormon, and it's so cool because everything makes sense, it all has a lot to do with the Mayan culture and history.  so we TOTALLY have to come back and go to some ruins and museums with him, and the family.

Okay this was on Saturday. we went to eat with the Familia Saavedra, to Despedirnos. and wow, they took us to the GREATEST restaurant in la Ciudad de Mexico, is called Casa de Toño.   just has really typical mexican food, but I'm not kidding it's the best I've had in the mission.  so I don't think we ever tried it when we were in Cuernavaca, but a really traditional dish is Pozole. its got maiz, a little chile, they throw in some carne and then put in lettuce and rabano and onion and  oregano. from the first time I tried it in Loma Hermosa its been my favorite :)

but in the casa de toño its like the specialty so we are definitely going back together because you've gotta try it!!

Ah, it was kinda hard to say goodbye to the Saavedras. They are so sweet, and they have so much potential in the gospel. they have so much faith and honestly are probably some of my best converts. I feel SO blessed for the spirit that led us to them, and that prepared their hearts to receive the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Like they were the easiest baptisms, because they were SO ready.   Those are the type of people we need to find, and I know that there are LOTS out there. We just have to find them :)

but it wasn't even that hard to say goodbye because 1. its not even a goodbye because I know I'll see them again before I leave to go home, and 2. because I feel like I really don't have to worry to much about them. They will be strong and will keep progressing

It's impossible to really express the gratitud and joy I feel. Just for this family, and I feel like its multiplied with everyone I get to know here. Our Heavenly Father is so loving, He loves His children so much.  And our oldest brother Jesus Christ too. Just never forget it okay

It totally hailed the other day.  It started raining a bunch this week and then it started to hail.  Totally crazy

Joshua his is my favorite kid ever.  He is just super goofy and he looks like he comes out of a cartoon, I don't know I just love him a lot and we were playing keep the balloon up for awhile on Saturday.  I am going to miss him a lot!

 Okay, and on Sunday it was David's birthday. We went over to his and Pamela's house, and ate some awesome tacos de alambre and we hung out with all his family. He is also the greatest convert ever, just was super prepared as well. We got there and he was talking to his cousin about how great the church is and telling her about the organization, how its an unpaid clergy, everything about prophets and apostles and Hermana Gallacher and I were just listening and beaming. It was so cool because he's so excited to share the things he learns. On Sundays it's awesome, him and Pamela just study stuff together, they spend hours watching Mormon videos and talks and learning new things. I wish everyone had the same passion for learning about the gospel as he does! oh and the best, they bought a dairy queen ice cream cake for his birthday. YESSSS we died, I didn't know they had that here! For his birthday and as like a goodbye present, we gave them a picture of the temple in a frame, and they loved it

 Another amazing family that we had to say goodbye to, la Familia Sanchez.  They're members, and probably my favorite. ah, the twins are just little studs, they are the funniest 14 year olds I've ever met and we just get along really really well.  Raul is 12, he told me to say hi to Aidan because they're the same age.  whenever we go to their house, they give us food. like literally without fail, even when we are not hungry at all. and so to send me off, they gave us some tlayudas.  These GIANT tortillas tostadas things and it was delicious. It's not very common here, its from Oaxaca, because that's where they're from. but we got excited,you guys have to meet them

April 18 - Trials

 So on Saturday, the Familia Salguero had us over for dinner, and made a TON of wings and carne asada.... I was in HEAVEN.

and note Hemano Salgueros Utah shirt... he just does that on purpose to bug us.

and I'm bringing the scrunchie back in style.  I bought a sick one the other day and wore it all week haah 

and we went and ate crepes today. eees for fun.

 I didn't take a tons of pictures but these are some cool ones  from Hermano's house Parque Villa, I just love the ciudad! 

Well this week was a week of pruebas, like the refiners fire. We feel like the Lord is seeing if we really REALLY want it, if we really want to reach our goals. Every fecha that we had fell, Danae, Aaron, Andres, Alejandro. We didn't baptize this week. We have been getting up early, fasting, praying all the time during the day, trying new things to find new people and people that are ready to be baptized.
We did find a really great new family, Rosario and her hija Fabiola. Rosario is a nurse, and has a complicated schedule, so she will have to miss church once every three weeks. But she is really excited about the message of the Restored Gospel!! Wow, we had some really great lessons with her this week. We contacted her in the street outside her apartment, and she told us to come on up and talk to her. She had a really good friend who is a member of the church, and she told us she's really interested to learn more. We talked to her and when we taught the restoration, she was super excited, she got on the LDS page the next day and read a bunch of conference talks and studied a ton of information about the church. Wow she is really escogida, and I'm excited for her to be baptized next change <3 I learned a lot teaching her, and seeing how excited she got. We take for granted a lot of things, especially the blessing of having the plentitud of the gospel in our lives. We gave her a book of Mormon on sunday, and she gasped and wouldn't stop thanking us. It was so sweet, and it makes me so happy to be out here as a representative of Christ, and a carrier of this great message :)
So even though everyone is falling through, and we don't have any possibles right now, I know that we will baptize before this change ends.

I'm also super grateful for my companion.  I have learned SO much from Hermana Gallacher, and I know there was definitely a reason that we came to the mission at the same time, and we were together for so much.  I have needed her to learn to be more humble, more serviceful and more obedient. The Lord knows exactly who I need, and I'm getting sad just thinking about how I've probably only got a week left here in Claveria. 

I love you a lot!!!  thank you for all your prayers <3

Hna Schneider