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