2 months

my companion proud of her work after she "gave me eyebrows"
(apparently light brown eyebrows appear non-existent when everyone else's are black).

I've officially passed the 2 month mark out here which is nuts! 

Spanish is still hard and confusing, the culture is still foreign, but it's all feeling a bit more familiar every day. 

This week it got COLD. Not MN cold, but probably about 40/50 degrees, which when you have no heater (so it's the same temperature inside and outside) feels pretty dang cold. We were definitely using every blanket we had at night. But it was just a cold front, so it passed after about three days.

us being cold

Unfortunately, my companion is not very accustomed to the cold (especially after a Juarez summer) so she got sick. She tried hard to keep working, but finally agreed to rest for an afternoon when she was told to by me, the mission nurse, and about 30 people in our ward. She's slowly getting better, but her throat still kills her and she coughs a lot.

my companion being cold

Because of that, I was put in charge of talking for a day, and let me tell you, that was a train wreck. When put under pressure, I have found that my Spanish comprehension goes down by about 70%. But hey, we survived. I talked to people, attempted to teach a few lessons (which my companion attempted to save with the little voice she had), and made it through until she could hardly stand walking anymore and we went home to let her sleep.

chocolate "pancakes"

Oh and I forgot to include this last week so I'll do it now. Best decision of the week: bought a jar of peanut butter. Worst decision: finished the jar. Yes, within a week. my companion thinks I'm addicted haha.

Oh yeah! I helped cut down a tree this week! Ok, not really down, but there was a fallen tree that we helped cut in half. Forgot to take a picture, but I thought that Dad would be proud (I was super strong).

 my awesome tan lines, sorry my feet are nasty, but the tans are funny so I wanted to share

I saw miracles and felt the pain of struggling people this week, as I do every week I suppose. I saw people overcome their addictions, and others fall back into them. I saw people's eyes light up as they heard the good message of the gospel, and felt the pain as others refused to hear this message of joy and hope. But through it all, I can see the Lord's hand. He is always there, waiting for us, reaching out to us. He walks with us every step of our lives, and when things are hardest, He is there to carry us, if only we will let Him.

Hermana Naatjes

chocolate pancakes (really just cake, cooked on a pan bc we don't know how to use an oven, but it was awesome)