Week #1 in Colonia Juarez

Dos Hermanas on a suspension bridge

Hola Todos!

This week was good! This has been super weird to be here in the colonies, where we go to church in English, and there aren't people walking out in the streets, but I'm starting to learn the ways of the colony. It feels tiny, but I'm liking getting to know everyone and seeing a bit more what it's like in other missions. The work is very different and a bit more difficult but I'm working on trying to get the hang of teaching people who have heard the gospel their whole lives and chose not to accept it, but we're working on it!

My companion, Hermana Cruz, is from Vera Cruz, Mexico and is awesome. We also have a third companion, a dog who we have named Bobbi or Negra (see the picture below) who follows us all day, every day, and even tries to walk into our house with us at night. 

"Bobbi", the third companion (who has managed to scare away a couple of investigators)

Hope you all have a great week!

Hermana Naatjes

Suspension bridge that Bailey crosses many times a day.

Peace Out Juarez!!!

Karen :)

  Hola Todos!

This week was fantastic! Me and my companion feel like we've gotten in a good rhythm of work, always having fun and finding joy along the way. I have loved this time that I've been here in Frontera, but the Lord has decided that it's time for me to move on, and I'm headed to Colonia Juarez! It's a little pueblo close to Casas Grandes. I'm leaving the "big city" and headed to the country! I've been told that it feels like a completely different world out there, and I'm excited to see what it's like :)

This week we also had a baptism! Hermano Javier Mena decided this week that he was ready to leave his old life behind and follow Christ. He was incredibly happy and relieved to have this opportunity to start his life over in Christ. 

Baptism!!

This week we were also able to find a man who we were teaching a while back but lost contact with, but when we found him he was excited and ready to make the changes that before scared him. He is preparing to be baptized this Saturday :) Though I won't be able to be here, I am super excited for him :)

Los Miede Bueno

Things I learned in Frontera:

1) Spanglish is a real language

2) I love Mexican people (and food)

3) Really who God is, who Christ is, and in turn who I am :)

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

Hermana Naatjes

Familia Longoria

Time flies

 sunset in Juarez

Hola Todos,

This week flew by. I have less than a year left on my mission, which is nuts. But time is truly starting to fly. I am starting to feel like a missionary. My companion and I are super similar, we both love to eat and do exercise, and work hard. We love to laugh and don't let a day pass without laughter of some sort. 

Cringy pics with the comp (orange peel smiles)

This week we had Zone Conference and our mission president gave us examples of good missionaries and different standards of excellence we could achieve. One of the examples he gave was of a sister who had her daily plans full to the brim. They had an appointment every half an hour, and when asked she said that 70% of the people were there for the appointments. That is a crazy high percentage for our area.

Her example gave me a new vision for what I can accomplish in each day, and me and my companion have started setting our goals higher. We spend the day occasionally running (literally) between the appointments, but I can honestly say that I couldn't be happier doing it. There is so much joy in the feeling of accomplishment, especially when we know it is the work of the Lord. We will always experience disappointment and rejection, but if we are doing all that we can, all that is in our power to do, we can find joy nonetheless.

 sunset in Juarez

Love you all!

Hermana Naatjes

Weekly Report...who knows what number

Dusty boots and sun-bleached hair

*We have been able to talk to Bailey for the last couple of weeks, so her letters have become shorter, as she has run out of time to write...she also didn't send explanations for her pictures this week, so I'm going to put my own captions on.

Hola Todos!

This week was great! We had people come to church and people who are progressing well :) This week we had two people tell us that they wanted to be baptized and receive this new beginning that is only possible through Jesus Christ. One is a man named Julian who has some medical complications due to the fact that when he was 3 he got hit by a car, but he is awesome and wants to do all he can to improve and thank the Lord for the life that he has. Where many would be bitter for what they don't have, he tells us each visit that he is only thankful, and is thankful for every new day that God has given him in this life. 

P-day fun: companionship art project

We are also teaching a sister who when we started teaching her this week about the things we shouldn't eat/drink/do, instead of complaining about all the the things that are going to change, she ran to her kitchen to brings us the different types of tea that she had so she could throw away the types that were bad for her body. 

PANTS!! (She said it felt weird).

I learn so many things every week from these people, and am so eternally grateful for this time that I have here in Ciudad Juarez.

Love you all!

Hermana Naatjes

Baptism!

Baptism!!!

Hola Todos!!!

Just a warning, my emails are probably going to start being a bit shorter because I can now call and talk to my family every week! Already got to talk today, and only cried like twice when I saw their faces! But ya know, that will calm with time when I realize that I can actually do it every week and it's not just some dream! 

This week we had a baptism! Yesterday morning, Jose Alfredo got baptized! He is 56 (as of yesterday, because it was also his birthday!) and is fantastic, and was incredibly excited for his baptism. He showed up on time (even though practically everyone else was 15 minutes late, I guess members being late isn't just a thing in Minnesota haha), and everything went well! The spirit was strong and when we asked how he felt he smiled and said "I feel clean." 

Everything is going well, I'm already getting sunburned (yes, its only February) and have some pretty crazy tan lines already. Hoping I can adjust to the heat that's going to come, but we'll see what happens! 

My first attempt at making an omelet... I was pretty proud

Love and miss you all like crazy and hope you have a good week!

Hermana Naatjes

6 meses!!!!

 my comp thought it was funny that I was eating the "morenito" cookies and she was eating the "guerita" ones

 Hola Todos!!

In 3 days I officially complete my first 6 months in the mission! I am thinking in Spanish, understand pretty much everything (with the exception of words, because my vocabulary is still quite limited, but growing every day), I gained weight, and am losing some of it (maybe a little slower than I put it on) and yes, I love Mexico. The people, the language, the food, I'm loving it all.  

I have come to find an intense appreciation for all I have been blessed with in my life, especially with this time I have here in Ciudad Juarez. I came with a slight fear for my life (due to the mistake that I made of Googling Ciudad Juarez) but this area and these people have changed my heart and have helped me become more of the person I want to be, though I still have a long way to go. Not every day has been easy, not every moment has been filled with joy, but I have experienced more joy than I previously knew existed. I have seen the joy of a heart made pure again through Christ, the joy of watching someone's eyes fill with hope as they begin to understand the true depth of the love of God and the incredible length of His reach. 

ate this fish...was a bit scared but I liked it!

 I had to speak in sacrament meeting this week, and you better believe I was terrified (which I know is ridiculous, seeing that I spend all day every day speaking to people about all this, but public speaking still freaks me out). The talk was only 5 minutes, to leave time for some converts to share their testimonies, but I was still nervous. But I did it! I spoke, without using my notes or reading, in Spanish, for 5 whole minutes, and afterwards a few members told me that they liked what I had said, which means they understood it!!! (at least I hope haha)

Me and Hermana Sanchez made crepes :)

One of my favorite experiences/moments this week was in a lesson with a man named Jose Alfredo. He is preparing to be baptized and we were teaching him about the law of tithing. As we taught we could see he had concerns. He began to tell us of all the things he was trying to do, saving up for a visa so he could see and live with his family, with the bills he was left to pay alone after his divorce and the death of his mother, among other things he needed to do. He asked us how it should be done, if this 10th was from what we were left with after our many bills and necessities, or before. 

I began to worry that he was going to tell us he couldn't do it, but continued to explain that the law of the tithes is that we give 10% of all of our increase to the Lord, and he stopped me and simply said, ok, so we put God first, and later everything else. We confirmed and he smiled and told us, "perfect, that's how I hoped it was. God should always come first." I hope some day we can all learn to see the commandments of God as Jose Alfredo sees them. 

Love and miss you all and hope you have a fantastic week!

Hermana Naatjes

First week with the new comp!

What we do when it starts raining and we're not prepared...

Hola Todos!

This week went well! I'm a bit worried because we just started the first week of February, and I'm already starting to sweat...keep me in your prayers por favor! I may burn to a crisp when summer hits (I'm already getting sunburned too...and yes, mom, I'm using sunscreen), but I have faith that with His help I'll be able to survive it! 

This week I got to meet and start working with my new companion, and she's awesome! Her name is Hermana Sanchez, and she is from the capital of Honduras. She has been on her mission for 9 months and was previously in Casas Grandes. I was pretty scared to get a new companion, after being with Hermana Hernandez for 4.5 months, but despite my fears that she wouldn't like me, we get along well! She is goofy and likes to sing, and is willing to exercise with me! I'm looking forward to losing the weight I've put on, haha.

The beginning of the week was hard. I have come to realize how much I relied on Hermana Hernandez before, knowing where to go, who to look for, how to find new people to teach...she was expert at it all. Now that I'm the one who knows the area, I'm having to lead and make decisions (something that has always been a struggle for me), but I am now learning how (slowly, and with many mistakes, but learning nonetheless!)  At the beginning of the week we experienced more rejection than I had previously experienced, but it helped me recognize and appreciate the miracles when we saw them! We were struggling a lot to find new people to teach as almost everyone was rejecting us, but on Sunday we were able to find three new people to teach! All of whom are very interested and have a lot of potential! 

Message of the week: Trust in the Lord. I spent a lot of my first 5 months in my mission trusting in others, trusting that the Lord could help them, but doubting (though I didn't want to admit it) that He could help me become a powerful and effective missionary. But I have come to see in this week that He does indeed have the power. Through my own lack of faith and confidence I was limiting His blessings. But that is not what He wants for us. If we are willing to give up who we are, our own fears and desires, to do His will, He will bless us with the ability to do all things. Trust in Him. Turn to Him. Humble yourself before Him, and He will guide your path. However dark it may appear in this moment, however far you may feel from Him, He will light your way.

Love and miss you all! Have a great week!

Hermana Naatjes