March 28 Women's Conference

Okay so my favorite part of this week was probably going to the saturday womens conference session!! It was incredible.

I loved Hna Neil F Marriot's talk.  she's just a really good speaker, all of her expressions and everything haha, but I love how she talked so much about LOVE!

She said that Love is just making space for someone in your heart, or somethng like that, and how being a mother doesn't just mean having kids. It is simply GIVING LIFE.  whether that is spiritual life, like sharing our knowledge of the gospel with all who are around us, or being kind to others or caring for our primary class, there are a TON of ways.  It just requires a little bit of  selfless sacrifice.

It was really cool because we brought a really good investigator, her name is Laura, and her husband Gustavo, and she is SUCH a good person. She has about 8 dogs in her house that she rescued, and tries to find people to adopt them. it's so cute, she's so good. I really just hope that she enjoys the conference next week too!! 

I also loved loved President Eyrings talk.  If you didn't get to see the conference, I hope that you guys can watch a few of the talks this week!

I hope that everyone is getting REALY exicted for general conference this week. do ALL that you can to see all 4 sessions, because I have a huge testimony of the blessings that we receive when we listen to the prophets and then try to apply the counsel in our lives. 

I'M  glad everyone had a good Easter, actually I bought some eggs and tried to make the easter eggs with the numbers and the little things inside, and we were gonna have a noche de hogar ayer with the familia Salguero but then didn't end up doing it, so we will do it tonight!

What else, we had a conference with President Whitehead and hna Whitehead on friday and it was really good.  We have so so much work to do, a LOT of elders and hnas are going home this next change, and a lot of them are leaders. and the mission has had a lot of problems in the last month.  So yeah it was really good though the conference and we just have to get everyone going again, with the same DESEO and obedeince and hard work. 

but yeah thats about it, i love you all all the much!!! have an amazing week

March 14 Staying in Claveria

hola!!

Well this week was kinda crazy.  To be honest, a really hard one. I don't know why, but I felt pretty sad on wednesday and it was just hard.but after I felt a lot better and we had an incredible weekend. 

Juan Carlos (the husband of Maribel) FINALLY got BAPTIZED.  A straight MIRACLE seriously.

We just put our faith to the test and filled up the font and brought the clothes and got everything ready just hoping that he would finally say yes and decide to do it. 

The Lord answered our prayers. Not for us, but for this family.  I know that Padre Celestial LOVES this family a ton, and they were just waiting for their dad to get baptized so that now they can work towards the temple.  I feel so grateful, because it strengthened my testimony of the power of fasting and of prayer.  I am so so excited, and I feel so so blessed to be able to witness these types of milagros each week.

The other really exciting thing, I'm STAYING here in Claveria!!!! I can't tell you how scared I was on saturday when they were telling us the cambios, because honestly this ward is my absolute favorite.  I feel so close to a lot of the members, and a lot of the families that we have taught here, I was just completely not ready to go. at all haha so we feel really relieved.  So its ROUND 3 with Hermana Gallacher haha and we are loving it.

I am so glad to be out here. To be learning so much. and the time is flying by way way too fast.  But Thank you so much for all of your support and love. <3 

hna schneider

March 9 Baptism of Irais, Abril and Joshua

We had an incredible week! I felt the spirit so strong this weekend, we went to the temple on Saturday. It was awesome, we rented a combi (minibus) and now I feel like all the conversos recientes and members are just really good friends! We played big booty on the way and just joked around a ton.  Our mission leader is the greatest, just cracking jokes and making fun of us. (I had to do the BYU fight song... ridiculous),. Then in the centro de visitantes we had the best time.  Everyone was crying watching all the videos.  Then on the way home, everyone was just bearing their testimony and talking about what they learned and more about how they felt.  The spirit was so strong in that combi. 

Mexico City Temple

We had a wonderful Sunday!  David was all ready with his suit and tie and got confirmed a member of the church. He was just beaming, so so happy.  It was domingo de testimonios, and so in the gospel principles class our lider misional just asked a bunch of conversos recientes to share their testimonies.  David shared his, but then when his wife Pamela talked, I just lost it. She broke down (she never cries) and just bore her testimony about how the Gospel really does CHANGE people. She kept repeating that she never ever could have seen this happening, and that she is so grateful for the way the gospel will bless her marriage now.  I am so excited for them, and to see them get sealed in a year (we already are putting the temple date!!)

Then Irais and her sister Abril shared their testimonies as well, I can't even describe it, they are the MOST escogidas that I have ever known in my whole mission.  I am so grateful because the Father trusted us with His precious daughters, and I know that they will be very strong ward members.  (hoping that Irais decides on a mission, that would be incredible)

They had a great baptism service, Hermana Gallacher and I sang #50, the classic mas cerca Dios de ti(Nearer My God to thee). Irais went first, then Abril, and then Joshua last, and he loved it, wanted to stay in and swim for a while, it was just so cute. and I felt the spirit testify of how much our Father LOVES these two daughters and son. He loves them, and there isn't words to describe the JOY that you feel watching people open the gate to enter back in to the presence of God. <3 

This month we are going to have to work a LOT harder, a lot better, and we have a lot of hopes for March. but we have a TON of work to get done, everyone does in the whole mission. February went pretty bad, and we are going to have to change a lot of things. But I'm excited to see the changes. 

I love you all, so much!

Crazy Zone Picture

February 29 Eating Grasshoppers

David y Pamela

We baptized David this week, and his baptism was SO GOOD. He went to church in a suit and tie, and just LOOKED the part, he was shining before and even more after the baptism! We had an awesome lesson with him and his wife on saturday, all about what comes after a baptism, and they are really excited to work towards a temple date! It has been such a blessing to get to help them bother, her to come back to church, and him to change his goals in life and way of living now. The Lord is so merciful and so great.

We have three awesome fechas for this week, la familia Saavedra,(Abril, Irais, y Joshua) They are so excited. We had to go with them to church at 8 this week, because they had a compromiso with their family. We ended up running a little late, and we were getting to their house when we saw them already walking down the street, looking for a taxi to go to church. haahah they were like "hermanas! we thought you slept in so we were just going to go by ourselves." I LOVED that, it just shows that they really love the gospel and love to feel the spirit. They really put the Lord first on sundays. I'm just so grateful for them, for that first contact the first day of the change <3

 I feel so grateful for this last month, because I feel like I'm learning SO MUCH. I've finally learned the importance of focusing on finding people ALL THE TIME. I have gained a testimony, that there really ARE people here waiting for us, we just have to cumplir with everything the Lord asks, and then it's a sure thing that He will help us find them!

We had three intercambios this week too, and the BEST was that I got to go back to Loma Hermosa, and see some people again. It was so cute, I went with Jorge and his wife, and then with Sonia and Melanie and Gael and Axel again, it was such dejavu and I LOVED being back in my area again!!!

 the greatest fam ever. 

 I LOVE Loma Hermosa

Hermano Jorge, my abuelito

And today we went to the Zocalo, like downtown, and took some pics and had to go shopping for new backpacks and stuff. 

I should always wear a sombrero

la grande y abominable

Its been an awesome week.  I love being here in Mexico, and I love my Savior :)

<3

Hermana Schneider

eating chapulines with la Familia Sanchez hahahah. (grasshoppers) 

the awful thing is that they didn't taste that bad.

Hermano Sanchez with his grasshoppers.  they were actually really spicy... he's crazy

February 15 Valentine's Day

Celebrating Valentine's Day with hot fudge

Well this week  was a little difficult to be honest. Our fecha with Joel fell, he didn´t tell us before that he has problems with the ley de castidad (chastity) and then of course didn't want to be baptized when he knew he wouldn't be able to cumplir( to keep). So that was disappointing and it is hard because now he doesn't want to go to church, he's just embarrassed.. But we will keep working with him.
We had miracle though! Juan de Dios, a 14 year old joven, and he wants to be baptized! We didn't get to know him until this Sunday, but he has been going to activities and church services with his friends in the ward, and likes it! We will get to know him better today and be able to talk to his family.
Abril, her son Josh and her sister Irais went for the second time and they are progressing REALLY well. They are the most escogida(choice) familia that I have ever met, and I feel so blessed for finding them!

I had my first intercambios this week, and it was actually super fun. I was with Herman Diaz, fresh from the CCM and from Oaxaca. She bought me my first coconut, that was delish.  With lime and chilito, it was really tasty.

but Hermana Gallacher and I are still having a blast,  even when things don't go how we want them to, we laugh and joke around a ton. We speak the worst spanglish in the world but its been funny.

Love you all the much!

It's been so long since I've had Panda!

February 10 - Zone Conference

 I LOVE being with Hermana Gallacher and I am so excited for the rest of this cambio. This week has  been one of the best weeks of my entire mission.  I can't even describe how strongly I have felt the spirit and how many miracles we have seen this week. 

So the very first day of the cambio, Hermana Gallacher and I went out and started off for an appointment. We were contacting, and we saw about three families up ahead. It was the coolest feeling because I looked at this family passing by and the thought came so quick in my head... "ellos". I immediately followed the prompting.  I am so thankful for the spirit, because when we started talking to them, we knew that they were going to be really good. We got to the first lesson with Abril, Josh(her son) and her sister Irais, and they had already read the restoration pamphlet and we get in and they just start talking about how much they loved it.  "its so beautiful!" and Abril is like "I feel like we have been walking errantes (lost)  searching for the truth too!" I'm like okay this is way to perfect. 

 Now we have gone with two different members to teach the familia Saavedra, and they know the bishop, and they LOVE the church. Josh (who is just 8 yrs old) was singing primary songs when he got home Sunday. I have been thanking my Father in Heaven every single day for helping us find Abril, Irais, and Joshua. They will be baptized the first week in March.

Oh and when Irais prayed for the first time, she just starts out so sweet "hola Padre Celestial, help us to find the right path, and to know what is the truth... and then she starts crying and just says... I think this is it".  they could identify the spirit so easily, and they are so READY for the restored gospel.  what a BLESSING!!! ahhhh I'm so excited for them

And we had some pretty incredible lessons with our new Mission Leader,  his name is Hermano Salguero. I'm not kidding he is the coolest guy ever, and his family is the BEST.  we learn SO MUCH from him, and from his wife.  

The four of us together again :) at conference, in presidentes giant house

This Monday was really cool, we got to go to concilio (council) and it was amazing.  I learned a lot and I just love Hermana and President Whitehead so much. I'm so sad that they are going home like 3 weeks before me :/

I feel like I have a million things to tell, but just definitely not enough time. 

I love you all. I LOVE the Lord. I LOVE Mexico and I love the mission. 

its like you can't really describe it in words. 

<3

have a good week!!

We went to see Hermana Fernanda Nuñez open her call... totally brought me back to the day I opened mine. so crazy to think of how different everything was back then°

she's going to Honduras, Teguc.   She's so excited!

Feb 1st Back with Hermana Gallacher from MTC

So I've got lots of updates!!

This week was amazing honestly, a great way to end this cambio.  Marisol accepted her date to be baptized this week!!! Many times as missionaries we say that we got her to say yes, or "sacamos la fecha", but it really wasn't us at all.  Prayer is so real.  We just kept committing her to pray, and she did, and she got her answer. She didn't have a vision, or hear a voice, but she felt peace. She felt that it was right. It was hard for her to make the decision, but she finally did, and prayed about it, and THEN received the confirmation that it was the right thing to do.  That is the great great lesson I learned from her, to have to faith to make our decisions by ourselves first, and then ask the Lord if it is right. Because MANY times we sit waiting patiently for the direction from God,  but he is just waiting for us to make up our minds and ask Him. Its a "trial of faith" but then comes the answer.

We also celebrated Hermana  Benitos birthday this week!!! I love her so much, and gonna miss her tons. It's fine because I'll just go visit her in Spain ;)

Hermana Benitos' birthday flan because she can't have gluten

Sunday was honestly just the best ever, it was one of the best baptisms of my mission, because I felt sure that she knew she was doing the right thing. <3 

The best baptism with Marisol (and her novio (boyfriend) Adrian.. they're the funniest)

So that was our little miracle for this week

cambios... I'm staying here in Claveria, and I'm with Hermana Gallacher!!  That's right, my companion from the CCM, round two. Obviously we are beyond excited.  I can't wait, I know that this cambio is going to be insane.    And I'm also hermana capacitadora (trainer) now, so that will be new and super fun, to be able to work with all the Hermanas. (and I'll get to go back to Loma Hermosa hopefully, I literally cant wait for that)

So those are some of the updates for this week. I feel a little nervous for the new responsibility, but I am really excited to be able to learn so much from the other Hermanas. :)

I LOVE YOU ALL!!

Hermana Lesueur