Changing it up

A fantastic brownie and Hermana Cruz

Hola Todos!

This week was a good one! 

We were able to find a family this week who are super interested! We explained our purpose and explained how it came to be that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the same which He taught when He came to earth, was restored through a living prophet. As we finished our discussion, we asked if they had any questions and they told us that, on the contrary, we had answered many of the questions they had. 

Also... I cut my hair. My own hair. I decided that it was time for a change and took a pair of scissors to my hair, and I now have 8 inches (ish) less. So that's pretty fun. See pictures below!

Hair before...

Also, just a reminder that the Love of God is real. He feels true pain as we suffer and when we reject Him. This week we have had many lessons in which the people we were teaching, though they understood the importance of everything that we were teaching, rejected it anyway. I have found that in these moments I can feel His love so strongly, it is a sad love, a desperate love, but a love with incredible strength. We are truly His children, and His desire is that we can all return to Him. 

Love you all like crazy and hope you have a great week!

Hermana Naatjes

...and after.

...and after with her hat.  

BAUTISMO!!!! (#2 de la Colonia)

 Diana's Bautismo!!

Hola Todos!!!

Just yesterday they informed us that I am guaranteed at least another 6 weeks here in La Colonia with Hermana Cruz!! So, the fun here will continue. :)

This week we had another Baptism!!! A sister named Diana who lives here in la Colonia got baptized on Thursday! :)  She was super excited, and we were super excited for her. 

Sorry this email is a bit short, but I don't have a ton of time. 

Just want to invite you all to remember that God loves you. That Christ literally suffered everything that you have suffered, the small and the big. Every pain, sickness, trial, He has overcome it, so that He can help you overcome it as well.

Love you all like crazy and hope you have a great week!

Hermana Naatjes

Roasting marshmallows (featuring the shirt my comp. gave me--it reads IT'S NACHO BUSINESS) 

BAPTISM!

Chinese food for the first time in 8 months!  (In a bigger, little colony in Mexico ☺). 

Hola Todos!

This week has been an interesting one! I'm still trying to adjust to the style of life here in the colonies, and it's still feeling slow compared to Ciudad Juarez, but I like it. It's a bit harder to find people to teach, but it makes you appreciate the miracles more. And speaking of miracles....

Cecilia's Baptism!!

This week la Hermana Cecilia got baptized!! She lives in a little town called Pacheco where there is no reception, and she only comes here to the colony once every two weeks. So two weeks ago we saw her and she told us she wanted to get baptized, but then we did not see or hear from her for two weeks, so we were unsure if it would happen. 

Friday night we called her, and the call actually went through! (which means that she was here in Colonia Juarez). She answered and we asked if she was here and if she still wanted to be baptized the next day, and she responded saying that she already told us she wanted to be baptized. We ran around trying to organize everything, and after a few mix ups, and some confusion on the date and time of the baptism, she was baptized. Cecilia was super excited and happy. 

It is always amazing to see changes like these in people's lives. I will forever be grateful for this opportunity that I have to watch these miraculous changes in the lives of people.

Have a great week!

Hermana Naatjes

Chinese food continued... (4$ for a giant plate that I could not finish, as hungry as I was)

Speak softly and carry a big stick

Found an aebleskiver pan, so we made some.  

Hola Todos!

This week was a good one! I have definitely gotten to know La Colonia, we walk the same like 10 streets every day from 11 in the morning to 9 at night. Our recent project is making a map of every single house in the Colonia to see who we haven't met yet (a surprisingly small number). 

This is Google Earth's view of Colonia Juarez.  Bailey lives in the house that's circled near the top. 
(She helped me figure this out in our phone call today).  

Despite the fact there are few people here and a lot are members, we have seen many miracles! We have a baptism planned for this Saturday and two for the following Saturday! 

It's been awesome to see that even though many see the Colonia as a place where there is no more work to be done, the Lord has shown me, while I've been here, that He means it when He says He'll leave the 99 to find the one lost sheep. Though many in Colonia Juarez have already heard this message of joy, the Lord has sent us here because there are still people here, His children, who are searching for Him. 

Funny experience of the week: We were walking through the streets late at night, when an angry chihuahua started following and barking at us. I bent down to fake picking up a rock to scare it off (almost always works), but it doesn't run. I then take a couple steps towards it, it hesitates a second, but then continues its angry pursuit. Finally, I bend down and pick up a stick (even though I have zero intentions of using it) to scare it off.  The dog runs off and returns with its own tiny stick. We almost died laughing. Dogs are intelligent and chihuahuas are tough.  

Birthday call/celebration for my dad with chocolate thunder (notice the phone--she's actually talking to Scott!)

Love you all! Have a good week!

Hermana Naatjes

Changing things up

Bailey's new hat!  ...And as an added bonus, it has an elastic string which helps keep it on in the wind! (She has been complimented by both 80-year-olds and 15-year-olds, so she feels like the hat's a winner).

Hola Todos!

Lo siento, this week's letter will be a little short but it was a week of a lot of changes. Following the advice of our Mission President, we ended up dropping about half of the people we have been teaching here in Colonia Juarez. We were scared to do it because there are not many people here, and even less who aren't members of the church, but it turned out to work well. We have now found time to dedicate to the people who are actually looking to change their lives and not just the people who let us in because they feel bad that we walk in the streets all day. We now have three people who are preparing to be baptized in the next few weeks!

Tune in next week to hear about my study about weaknesses and the Love of God! sneak peak: They're gifts to help us have joy. I'll explain more later.

Love you all! Have a great week!

Hermana Naatjes

Pics:

Flying kites on a mountain 

Semana 2 en la Colonia

Nuevo Casas Grandes (a municipality where Bailey shops on p-days. It has 50 times as many people as Colonia Juarez)

Hola Todos!

Life in the Colonia is awesome and feeling more like home every day. It's a little tiny town of I'm pretty sure about 500 people (according to Wikipedia the population is around 1,000--a big change from Ciudad Juarez) and though I am directionally challenged, I have pretty much learned the whole area. 

About 50% or more of the people are members of the Church, so it's been a bit hard to find people to teach, but I'm still working hard and finding miracles.

I am learning so much here. The work and the people here are so different and all already know the basics of the gospel, so I have had to study and learn a lot about how to help them overcome their doubts. I have also started to feel a new kind of love here, one that has been difficult to try to show. It's a sort of desperation, a desire for people to understand and to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. To come unto Him and get over the petty differences they've had in the past with members, but it's been difficult to figure out how to show it without feeling like I'm arguing with them. 

It's also been hard here because no one wants to accept a baptismal date, and the ones who do, then tell us they have divorces they need to complete to get married, or they live in Pacheco or Mata Ortiz*, and then we can't get a hold of them and can't go look for them, but we have hope that we can soon find them or go to them (we're hopeful that the violence will die down soon).  (*Pacheco and Mata Ortiz are nearby colonies that were included in Bailey's area until a couple of weeks ago.  The missionaries are currently not allowed to go there due to drug trafficking violence).  

Nuevo Casas Grandes con Hnas Cruz, Muñiz, y Gonzales

But things are going well with Hermana Cruz. She is awesome and even though our appointments fall through and people reject us, we can always find something to smile about. We're trying to stay positive and recognize the miracles that we can see in every day. 

Have a great week!

Hermana Naatjes

Hnas Cruz Muñiz, Gonzales, Navarro y Espiridion