Exchanges

the Halloween/hat package arrived

Hola todos!

This week was good! I'm starting to feel more at home here in Juarez, though I still can't effectively communicate and rarely know where I'm going. But eh, step by step right!

This week we had exchanges (teaching with a different companion) twice. I was terrified at first, but I survived! Both hermanas were very nice and helpful. One was from D.F. (Mexico City) and one from Bolivia. With the one from D.F. I was pretty comfortable because she spoke English as well (though less than my companion) so I could ask her words and things. 

The one from Bolivia (Hermana Limachi) did not speak a lick of English. She had to learn Spanish here on the mission because she spoke Quechua before, so Spanish was relatively new to her as well (she has 11 months on the mission), but we had an awesome time! She was SUPER sweet and helpful, and we were actually able to talk and teach together well. Turns out she's a k-pop fan, so we were able to talk about that a bit because Nicole served in Korea and Kylie loves it, and she also loves soccer. We got along quite well and she told me she hoped we would be companions some day, which was probably just to make me feel better, but I definitely agree. 

The result of rain?  Broken water pipe?  

We also went on splits this week to teach with some of the members because we had too many appointments to make it to them all alone. Man was I terrified. But we made it to all the appointments (miraculously, because I don't know where I'm going--definitely had some heavenly help there) and though we only ended up teaching one (the rest were not home) I made it through the lesson. I definitely had a lot of help from the member. Luckily she was a recently returned missionary, so when I couldn't understand what the man was saying, or vice versa (I guess my Spanish isn't always understandable), she was able to respond and explain and fill in the gaps. 

Get that corn out of my face

Two weeks ago we found this little family walking along the road. The mom seemed a bit serious so we were unsure of how the lessons and teaching would go, but they have become so dear to me. The two little girls (Dani and Sofi) are precious. They are 11 and 8 and are so smart and so receptive to the gospel, looking to learn and understand more. In one of our last lessons, we invited Dani to say the closing prayer, and she agreed only when Sofi (her little sister) said she would help. It was so precious as we got to listen as Dani prayed, being led through it by Sofi. I was very close to tears. 

morning exercise? (notice Hermana Hernandez on the floor and Bailey's awesome hair binder tan line on her wrist)

Every week out here I have more experiences that bring me both more joy and more pain than I had commonly experienced at home. There is nothing more joyous than watching a life change through the gospel, and nothing more painful than watching those you have grown to love fall. But the pains make the joy so much sweeter, and make you truly see and appreciate things in this life.

Thing to remember: This gospel is a message of joy. It is one that can bless each and every life. There is no life that can not be made sweeter through the truths of God. And this work of sharing is not only the missionaries' work. As much as we wish, we cannot do this alone. Open your mouths and share it. And when people have received it, help them. I have seen so many recent converts fall. They need the love and support that should come from joining. Help them.

Don't have time to explain this weeks pics but here they are! 

Love you all!

Hermana Naatjes

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)

When it rains, it pours

Hey everyone! 

This week was awesome! I had a lot of fun and hard experiences!

Most importantly: I HAD MY FIRST BAPTISM!!!!!

The girl's name is Karen and we started teaching her my first week here, she was a referral from an awesome member. She is 16 and super sweet, and super tall! The experience was amazing.

Karen's baptism!

We were running late, our ride picked us up late, and when we went to pick up Karen and her mom they weren't ready (we ended up being 20 minutes late for her baptism). When we got there everyone was already there waiting (including our mission president and his wife...oops), and when we were getting ready we realized Karen had forgotten a change of shirt (luckily I had brought a sweater, which I never do because I rarely get cold here...thank goodness for a prompting amiright?). Usually all of that would've left me feeling overwhelmed and stressed, but as soon as the meeting started, and when she was baptized, all I could feel was joy. The spirit and this gospel are truly amazing!

Had my first intercambios (I don't remember the English word) this week, so I spent a whole day in Spanish (except during comida when the members wanted to practice their English with me). But I survived! 

It was sad though, during one lesson, right at the end, I was sharing a scripture and testifying of it to the people, and feeling like it was really powerful. When I finished the woman we were teaching just smiled and said "que linda" (translation: how cute) and clapped because I spoke Spanish. That was pretty sad, but also funny.

Hermana Hernandez as Sadness

And it also rained. A lot. They were talking for days about how this huge storm was going to hit, something about a hurricane even. The "big storm" hit Friday night, and flooded the streets, and soaked me and Hermana Hernandez pretty thoughroughly, (mom help, idk how to spell anymore, and never did). But with the rain came miracles. We were in the midst of getting stood up for appointments (whats new) and trudging through the puddles when we saw the house of a contact from a while before who we had never actually visited. We decided to knock and see if she was home, and she actually let us in! The spirit was so strong during the lesson, and let me tell you she was prepared by God. Before the end of the lesson she accepted a baptismal date!

rainy day (my coat was a little tight over my backpack, but gotta keep the scriptures dry!

The Lord prepares people, and we are not the ones who convert them. We go and we teach and try our best to do it well, but rely fully on the spirit to carry it to their hearts. Never be afraid to share the truth with others. Don't be afraid of saying something wrong. If we are doing our best, relying on the spirit, and speaking from our hearts, the Lord will bless us with the words to say. This week while in a lesson I really wanted to share something with one of our investigators, but didn't want to mess it up, so was about to just tell it to my companion to translate when I remembered a story from the bible (I can't remember what prophet, sorry) in which he was promised that if he would speak he would be given the power to do it, but he instead asked God to give him someone else to speak for him. I decided I wasn't going to pass off my blessing I was promised (the gift of tongues), I was going to claim my blessing, so I went for it, and I spoke. It was definitely not perfect, but I was able to speak without hesitation, and I felt the spirit come over me. If we let the Lord use us as His tools and trust Him to help us, He will. If we are doing His will, He will always bless us with the power to complete our task. Turn to Him, trust in Him, and He will work miracles through you.

Love and miss you all!

 Hermana Naatjes

Before and after our taco feast today (which some unknown good Samaritan paid for)

 

Oreos and menudo--the food of an angel

 A cactus for Izzy (and all other cactus lovers)

Hey everyone!

This week was good! I'm definitely getting more used to the schedule (up at 6:30, work out, plan, study, walk until 9:00 at night), and my understanding is getting better, though the communicating part is still a struggle. But despite my lack of ability, we have people who are progressing well! We have three investigators with baptism dates, all amazing people with sweet spirits who have blessed my life (though I may not understand everything that they are telling me). 

Tender mercy this week:

On Tuesday I was feeling pretty bad for myself. It had been a long day of walking, getting stood up for lessons, and rejected by people on the streets. As we were walking I started thinking about how nice it would be to be able to just go home, sit at our kitchen counter and eat some Oreos with my family (a common occurrence in the Naatjes household). That night when we got home we stopped by to make sure our appointment with our neighbor across the street (Mateo, a literal angel) was still on. After talking for a bit, he told us to wait for a second, went into his house, and came out with a box of Oreos for us. We tried to say no but he insisted we take it. 

God cares about us each so much. He knows our struggles, our desires, and our needs. He cares about each part of our lives, and if we are striving to serve Him, He will bless our lives in many ways, no matter how silly it may seem. 

 Finally got some Wendy's! (American food!!)

                                                                         And KFC.... (sorry mom)

Also: IT RAINED THIS WEEK!!!! Multiple times. It made it cool enough that I actually wasn't sweating the whole week, and today its actually a bit cold (like 70 probably) and my companion put on a sweater. I am just loving the cold and soaking as much of it in as I can!

Funny thing: Mateo (neighbor angel) gave us some of his leftovers this week, and it was a dish called menudo (cow stomach). My companion thanked him and then told me not to eat it because she said menudo was gross. After it sat in our fridge for a few days we went to throw it away and my companion saw some stray dogs and decided she wanted to give it to them. We set it down and left it for a few hours when we walked, and when we came back it was still sitting there, untouched. Not even the dogs would eat it.

News flash: you can't flush toilet paper in Juarez

I hope you all enjoyed General Conference this weekend! It was so powerful, I cried multiple times (as I tend to do with spiritual things). Study it as much as you can, those messages were sent directly to us from God. He knows us and knows our needs. If you feel like you need any direction in your life, I would suggest going there first. There is personal revelation to be found for each of us among these talks. They have answered many of my prayers and will yours as well. 

 Me and Hna Thompson watching conference (in English!!!!)

Love and miss you all!

Hermana Naatjes

The Adventure Begins (again)

Hey Everyone!

I'm officially in Juarez! I'm right on the border, my area is called Frontera Norte. I can see El Paso from here haha. I spend the majority of my time walking (a lot), sweating, standing (or sitting) silent and confused (because I hardly understand any Spanish), smiling (because I don't know what's going on), butchering Spanish phrases that I try to say, and eating a lot of tacos. 

My companion's name is Hermana Hernandez, she is from Mexico City, and SHE SPEAKS ENGLISH!!! So yeah, I can actually communicate at least some times, but I do try to practice my Spanish the majority of the time. 

Some things that have happened:

1) I stepped in a large pile of mud (which idk where it came from because it's dry here)

2) We lost power in our house. I guess one of the girls before liked to keep the AC on all night which used up all the power we had, but don't worry, we got it back the next night. 

3) I got one of those fruit/ice cream bars (just for you mom).

4) Got lost on the buses (la ruta) for two hours while on exchanges with Hermana Thomson (a girl who came here with me) and another Hermana whose name I can't recall who had only been here for 6 months, so didn't know the area very well I guess (don't worry, we found our way back).

5) Opened a box of Mini Wheats, which I was very excited to eat, and found (after I had finished a bowl) that the box was full of small bugs. And there were none anywhere else in the house so they must've been in the package.

6) Got asked by a little boy if I saw everything in blue (because my eyes are blue)

Already in my first week I have experienced the heartbreak of rejection, the sadness of disappointment, and the joys of sharing the gospel with God's children.

Being here on a mission I get the opportunity to see the miracles that God is working in this world and feel the Love He has for all of His children. He wants us all to come unto Him. He is reaching out to us, just begging for us to reach back. Turn to Him. Let Him help you, heal you, and change you into the person you want to become.

Love and miss you all like crazy!

Hermana Naatjes

I'm alive!!!

Hey guys!

I made it to Juarez! It is definitely dry here, and it's around 80/90 degrees and they said it was a cool day, so this will be an adventure for sure! The flight was good, saying bye to everyone was hard, but I am so excited! We get our new companions tomorrow, and I was told she will most likely be Latina, so I'm jumping straight into only Spanish! I have realized I know absolutely nothing as far as living life in Spanish, but if you have a question about the Atonement or Eternal Life I´m all over that! (until you ask me a question speaking normal speed in Spanish). 

But eh, I could not be more excited to start teaching. I have come to help others, and I will do all I can to do just that, even if I look like a fool, just a gringa who knows no Spanish, at least I can make people laugh (mostly when I´m not trying).

I love you all like crazy and miss you! Keep me in your prayers por favor!

Hermana Naatjes

ps I would've called but they said it would cost like 500 bucks for you so decided not to.