Martin Carerra - Hey Hey Hey

Feliz Navidad a todos!

Well I saw all you guys a couple days ago and it was fun to see all of you and see that you guys haven't changed much, just more facial hair from Luke.. haha but it was fun to talk. And the member whose house we were at was laughing so hard at Parker's Spanish and hna Woodard thought it was pretty fun... Parker she said your mexi accent is pretty spot on! This last week was fun and really busy!

Christmas temple trip

Nativity skit at the Christmas Party

   First off we had a mission Christmas party on Tuesday and it was THE BEST!  Why was it the best... well it was the best because we got to do a session in the temple #blessings and then after we all went to the stake center next to the temple and we ate tamales and had a talent show with all the other zones. We just sang a song in Italiano, español, ingles y portugues! I can't remember what we sang but it was a Christmas hymn. Then one of our zone leaders did a cool magic trick and the best part of it all... hna woodard and I convinced the boys from our district to do a lip-sync to the song "love me but don't show me" from Sons of Provo and it was the best thing ever! They had to get pérmission from pres before because they were not sure if the dance moves were okay and yeah they were so they did it and closed the talent show ahahaha it was SO FUNNY!!!!

Our cookies that burnt because we were so busy killing cockroaches.

Hmm what else this week... oh yeah Christmas Eve... we had decided to make cookies for all of our menos activos and investigators and everything and as the first batch was cooking we saw more cockroaches then usual (fyi we have a really bad roach problem in our house its nasty) so then we noticed that they were coming from the panel in the oven where all the knobs are and we think there might be a nest back there so we were freaking out and had our roach spray and we were spraying a ton and then we couldn't breath so we went up on our roof and watched all the Christmas lights for a little bit and yeah it was a very memorable Christmas eve hahah!

 Christmas was good we went caroling with our district and then we went to eat and called you guys! After that we went and visited more people and yeah a good Christmas... and of course we ended Christmas with a bang... we forgot our keys and our land lady wasn't home so we were locked out and she wasn't answering her phone! haha so we called out district leader and he wasn't answering so then we called our zone leaders and they had to come to our area and sit outside with us till America, our landlady got home! haha we were all just sitting there and we were like wow this Christmas we really will never forget! Also that night we got a killer reference from the centro para visitantes ( CV ) of a family that wanted the lessons so it was like the best Christmas present EVER! and of course also seeing all your beautiful faces!

The next day we we went looking for that family and we couldn't find the house number anywhere because Mexicans like just painting a random number on their house and the numbers don't go in order or they do and and then there is just a random! Anyways the number was 32 and we couldn't find it so we were just walking down the street and we were about to knock on every door but then I asked this random little kid if his mom's name was Nayeli and he said yes and walked away so we were like okay what do we do? So we went later and knocked on the house of where the kid was and there is no number on the front door but then we went to the side door and saw number 32 written in sharpie and we were so happy and we found the family and they are really cool and the kids are super cute and we are going to go and teach them tomorrow! So yay! Also we had a big contacting thing where a lot of the elders came to our area and helped us contact to find more new people and we have a lot of cool potential so I will keep you all updated!

We bought ourselves jerseys for Christmas.

  As for the ward the max number is like 35 and this last Sunday it was only like 15 because everyone went to their pueblos for the holidays! I also play the piano in church because nobody else can and me and hna woodard spoke yesterday! There is a lot for us to do there... we teach gospel principals and when there is young women we teach that too! So yeah the ward is small but slowly growing! Everything is good though and our bishop is awesome and there is a lot of work to do here!

Also madre, muchísimas gracias for the packages you are the best and the amazon came really easily I didn't have to pay anything of customs are anything also Deanna thanks for the package we have been drinking our hot chocolate in the morning!!!!!  All is well here in Martin Carrera!!!! I will send some pics in a little bit!

con amor,

Dana

ps happy new year... I will hit my half way point the 1st of January!!!!!! craziness!!!!!

Trying out Sister Woodard's new selfie stick.

The hill we climb home every day.

Our Christmas view from the roof.

Merry Christmas to you!

Martin Carrera - Fotos

Sorry, sorry, sorry the myldsmail was not working yesterday so that is why I did not write back but... so this Friday for Christmas we are gonna call at like 3 or 4 ish mexico time... We are going to eat with a family in the ward and then after use their IPad to talk to you guys it might be skype or face time we are not sure... but I will just plan on calling dads number.  Is that all good and we will call you on the phone before we do it okay? But sorry I don't know what the time difference is from here to AZ! But I  love you all so much and I will talk to ya on Friday... oh ps it can only be 40 mins MAX!  Pres is getting pretty strict with us here but it is good because then we will have a good focus on everything here in the mish! Tomorrow we get to go to the temple and we have a mission Christmas party... buts only half the mish because half went today so its a bummer because I wont see like more than half of the other hnas because they are there today!  All is well, I really like Martin Carrera the people here are super down to earth and we just got along really well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our ward is like 30 people but that is okay we will help it get bigger and start working with more menos activos and baptize more and yeah... lots to do here! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!! love you so much!!!!!!!!

We are here at the CCM, got to wash our clothes and DRY them!

Here is my new house, cute but infested with cockroaches

Hermana Heywood

New Zone after the Stake Christmas Party.

Martin Carerra - La Virgen

Hello a todos!!

I found this picture on CNN. 

   Well this week was CRAZY! We were not allowed to be in our area for 3 days because well, it was Virgen day on the 13th and it was really crazy around here... there was so many parades and its was sad but funny at the same time! So people here LOVE the virgen and they were literally in the streets carrying massive statues in their hands with their virgen T-shirt and if their statue was too big of the virgen they had a glass box strapped to their back in order to show their virgen pride!
Jaja and our area was crazy because we have the biggest catholic church in Mexico or even Latin America.. not sure but it is 5 mins from our house in the neighboring ward so nobody from our zone could be in their areas for that time. So we got sent to the CV and we stayed in the dorms with the CV sisters and and we worked in the areas of one of the sisters since they can only be in their area 4 hours a day and then we worked in the secretary's area for awhile to find them new people to teach. So it was fun but it kinda stunk because we didn't get anything done in our area but that is okay this week we have a lot to do so yay! 

Here is the Basilica of our Lady of Guadalupe; One of the most important pilgrimage sites of Catholicism, the basilica is visited by several million people every year, especially around 12 December, Our Lady of Guadalupe's Feast day. (From Wikipedia)

  And sorry mom, my camera was dying so we didn't take very many pictures.  The CV dorms have washers and dryers so it was so nice because we got to wash our garments not by hand!!! Man that was so nice and we dried our towels all I can say is we are #blessed! jaja  The sad thing is I don't know very many people here. WE did meet this cool family and only one of the teenage girls is baptized so we are working with them and also the cutest 7 year old that turns 8 in a couple weeks... his grandma is a member so she always takes him but since he wasn't born under the covenant we have to teach him... his name is Iker and he is so so cute! Also today hna woodford emailed me and Isabel and Augustin got married yaya!!! I don't know when her baptism is but I hope I can get permission to go! Also Odalys and Vanessa are getting baptized on the 27th so I will call pres to see if I can go... if not, I will not be happy and they want me to speak so I better get to go haha! 

Oh also we had the temple of Tijuana events this week so we went to the cultural celebration and it was good... haha a little weird because they were playing worldly music and we had permission to listen to it but the dancing was good and it was good and the dedication was really good. WE only got to go to 2 because the other one was at like 5 pm and our stake wasn't showing it! The temple looks so nice we will have to take a road trip and go and do a session there! Oh also sorry mom I didn't take pics of the house because it is messy because they are re-doing one of the rooms and we are living out of our suit cases so yeah I will send pics next week! Oh also hna Woodard is awesome and we get ALONG really well and yesterday was her birthday so we made cake and it was fun! Also um I will email you next Monday about what time to skype and everything if that's okay! But yeah that is about it not much happened besides la virgencita is ruining our time to find neuvos haha but this week we will find a ton and we are planning on baptizing week to week in January so we need to find a lot of people that are ready for that! I love you all so much and I loved all the pics you sent and have fun on all your vacations and also dad send Carmel my condolences.  Love you all and talk to you next week!!!

love hna heywood

Martin Carrera - Como cree....transfers

Yeah hey there fam and everyone else... so this week I got hit with a pretty big surprise, I had cambios and now I am in Martin Carrera... the ghetto and I am so pumped! Not gonna lie, I was so sad to leave Izcalli and Luz, Odalys, Isbael y Augustine who are getting married next Monday! But that'a okay because my new comp is Hna Woodard!!!! 

  Yes, I am super happy that I got put with her because in the casa abierta we were basically together the whole time and we already know that we get along really well so it will be fun! As for my new area well I have really only been here for a day but its cool... I am back in el DF (districo federal mexi city) and are area isn´t the nicest its actually the worst of the hna areas but there is a lot of success here because the people are humble! Are house in like 10 min away from the basillica one of the biggest catholic churches in the world... its like the Vatican, mexican style and this Saturday the 12th is the day of the virgin and today we saw a parade for the virgin so I am sure on Saturday its gonna be crazy!! I am excited and all the people I have met so far are really cool and down to earth and just love the gospel! So yeah I am excited... 

An update for what happened in Izcalli before i left... we went to the CV with Luz and her fam and it was so so so so good! The girls are really excited to be baptized in two weeks and hopefully I can get permission to go back for the baptism and also for the baptism of Isabel and Augustine the 21st! We found some cool new people in Izcalli and we were doing doors a lot to find people! Also this menos activo in the ward passed away and let me tell yeah Mexican funerals are wack! 

  They took the coffin to the church... had the casket open and people could go all day and stay all night and mourn with the family and like everyone was wearing black except for us the missionaries... haha! But they had like a small devo and it was sad and they just talked about the plan of salvation and I guess it was good but sad! But man it was weird and then church got moved from 10 to 1 so people could finish mourning the death and so the casket could get picked up´! It was different! 

  Also Isabel and Augustine are gonna get married Monday so I am super happy for them and that they will stop living in sin... plus Isabel is gonna get baptized on her birthday because she wants to be born again on her birthday... you just gotta love her! 

Olive Garden not the caballo!

  Also we went to the us embassy this week to get hna Woodfords paper notarized so she could sell her car... and it was cool and intense and we met a lot of cool people while we were waiting. WE had to leave the mission to do it so the secretarys and the Anothonys came with us and after they took us to OLIVE GARDEN!!! It was the best food I have had in 8 months (oh yeah I hit 8 months with last week) and it was right by the angel of independence so we took some pics and I will send them to you! also hna Woodford and I ate horse on Sunday for my birthday dinner.  Also we ran out of water that day so I took a bucket shower because I hadn't washed my hair in 3 days and I forgot the water was gonna be turned off hahaha! That night we went to go visit luz and it was so cute they gave me a teddy bear that the girls had picked out and gave me a little cake and I just love them so much. Honestly, I was just sad to leave because I didn't want to leave them... it was sad and I may have cried when I wrote them a good bye letter because I didn't say goodbye to anyone because I didn't think that I was leaving so that was really hard... but I will go try and visit and I know that we will be friends for ever because I literally love that family so much and have never wanted anyone to gain their salvation so much! Ah but yes that is everything and I will update you on everything about the new area tomorrow oh and when we had transfers I got to see hna Gantz and pres Galicia and I was so happy!!!! But family, I love you all mom thanks for the package.

Hermanas and Mission Secretaries

 

You hermanas had a great run!

love you all so much!

con mucho amor,

hna heywood

ps Parker... nice Spanish in my birthday card... haha it made me laugh... what you said in Spanish.. not your Spanish... everything was grammarly correct! 

Gantz, Heywood, Woodford

I think Dana's new comp is on the very right....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HERMANA HEYWOOD

Christmas Tree in the Mall

Izcalli ...

From Dana's Mom:  I woke this morning to this picture and message in my in box.

"I will explain everything later."

As you can imagine; I was waiting anxiously for my email today.  Here is the rest of the story...

Dear Family!

  This week was nothing special, Thanksgiving happened and we didn't really celebrate... there was no time and then well, Carlos is on crack, we found some new people to teach... one guy is like Nacho Libre he used to be a fighter and hmmm what else oh yeah I went to the hospital...

I am glad all of you had a good Thanksgiving and everything is good there in America. Here our thanksgiving was nothing to special, we had tacos and yeah the usual meal and then we bought a doughnut at night to celebrate with something special... we couldn't find any pies here! And Carlos did not get baptized... basically he is either on cocaine or has a demon inside of him... if you want to hear the whole story ask me at Christmas because right now I don't have time to explain what went down with that man!  

  And yeah the hospital thing... well I woke up Friday morning super dizzy with diarrhea (sorry don't know how to spell that) and I didn't feel good at all and I was like crap no... so I feel asleep at my desk during studies and then so I just went to try to sleep it off so we could work in the afternoon... I then woke up at like 12 called hna Anaya to ask her what I should do or take and then I slept some more and then we went to comida so hna woodford could eat... and I wasn't hungry at all and so we were there eating sushi with the member that owns it and the elders and I just felt like crap. I was fine I just needed to take more Ibuprofen and be ready to work in like an hour... well then all the sudden i really felt light headed like I was gonna pass out and than my face was super pale and everyone was like hna are you okay and then my body got really tense and I couldn't move it so everyone like attacked me to drink water... i drank A TON! Then i was freezing, I got a priesthood blessing... still couldn't really move my hands so they called pres he told everyone I needed to go to the hospital and they said I was dehydrated.. I have an infection in my stomach oh and I have parasites... YAY! but basically I was dehydrated because when I had to go to the bathroom a million times in the morning... I wasn't drinking enough water and yeah you know all that good stuff so they just put me on a IV and now I have lots of drugs to take...

   Luckily I didn't spend the night there, pres came and picked us up and we went to his house.  We helped them do their Christmas tree and they made me breakfast of some nice rice and applewater! I still am not that hungry but that is okay i am getting better and i am taking all my meds so don't worry mom I am fine and the ward members are really really helpful people.  They are bringing me things yesterday to church that I could eat! haha But don't worry I am in good hands and hna Woodford is a good nurse and makes me take my pills on time #bestdaughter haha but we were laughing with Presidente because I went to the hospital with hna rhoten and so we were both saying this was all just part of hna woodfords training! And as of know I think we will have one more transfer together for Christmas to baptize all our people but we will see what the lord wants! I hope so but yeah we will see! 

  WE were gonna go to the CV this last Saturday with Luz y Odalys y Vanessa and lots of people... but we had to cancel because we were at pres house! But everyone is doing really well... Isabel and Aug are getting closer and closer to marriage! And Luz Odalys and Vanessa are all doing really good. Their baptismal date was for the 6th of Dec but they couldn't get to church yesterday so now we have to push it back till the 19th because the 13th is the Tijuana temple dedication so there will not be any church services! But everything is good I am happy, and we are working hard. Next week, I will not write till Wednesday because we have transfers and all that jazz. Tomorrow we have to go to the US embassy so hna woodford can get her car title notarized so she can sell it! There is a lot to do here in Izcalli and I am loving everyday here! I liked all the pics you guys sent and I hope that you celebrate my b-day for me in AZ ... Don't worry about me I am happy, healthy and doing the lords work! But have a good week I love you all and I will talk to you next week!!! Here are some more pics of our adventure this week! 

Eating sushi last week with hna Adriana and the elders

We made Christmas chains with Odaylis and Vanessa and they are both super excited for their baptism! 

Izcalli - Hola

Hey there fam! 

This will not be long because Res told me my letters are novels so I will not make them novels for you all lol!

   

This week was good... we had divisons and worked a lot... had zone conference... freaking Carlos we cant find that man.... that is a whole other story with in itsself... pero bueno! 

   hmmm lets see what to tell what to tell about this week...

We had zone conference and it was really good. we were the only zone in the conference which was weird and we thought we were gonna get guilt tripped because we haven't been baptizing like we should in our zone... and anyways that didn't really happen. It  was good I learned a lot about to better myself as not only a missionary but also as a person! Then luckily after zone conference pres gave us a ride to our area so we didn't have to make the 30 min walk to the hill... we were #blessed haha i am hoping that we don't have cambios but I honestly think it is a big possibility because I think hna Woodford might train because well... a lot of the hnas in the mish right now are not happy... they are just making it by because yeah missionary work is hard... but luckily we have found a happy mix between hard work and being happy and pres knows that and we are praying he doesn't split us up to help the other hnas.... okay I know that sounds terrible but we just don't want cambios quite yet!

   Isabel and Aug are doing... still not married... he still wants more time... but ahhhhh they kill me... no not they, HE! She is ready and wants to be married so she can get baptized but that's okay we will see! WE have been using a lot of the married couples in the ward to help us out with citas to help them see that blessings come from obedience! 

Luz y Odalys y Vanessa are all good! Vanessa went to the capilla the first time this week and really liked it and we had a activity of the primary and it was really good. WE are planning the bap of Odalys and Vannessa for the 6th de DIC (mi cumpleaños) and Luz said she wants more time which is fine because she doesn't have any church attendance so she can't get baptized till she does!  They are doing good and progressing but man it is a process with them and yesterday we gave them the CTR rings Maddie sent me (that are HLJ en español) and they all LOVED THEM! Shout out to Maddie for sending me those and helping me make my investigators happy! Kill'n it in the missionary work Matwat and you aren't even in the field yet! 

 But Carlos yeah that dang man keeps on working and so yeah we are going to hunt him down this week and get him baptized! #goaloftheweek We are also just looking for ton of new people and we are gonna find more families and yes its gonna be great! 

For divisones I went to Olivos with hna chavez and it was fun that area is really getto and I want to serve there one day but for now I don't want to leave Izcalli till I baptize all my people! But it was fun for a day but I was missing my home and mi compa mi hija! But all is well here in Izcalli.  I love the missionary work. it really is the work of the lord and when you forget yourselves and lose yourself in the service of the lord you really do find yourself! 

   As for thanksgiving plans there is none.... but hey maybe we will celebrate somehow this week and it will be just gucci! 

 Also I hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving and I hope Grandma is getting better! Grandma,I will be praying for you and your health and I will look forward talking to you en español por la navidad! But I love you all so much be safe and enjoy the Macy's day parade!

con muchísimo amor...

hna Dana Heywood 

Izcalli - Agua de limon, aahh no!

Hnas Heywood and Woodford

All is well here in Mexico... dang Carlos didn't get baptized because he was working non-stop legit! He works 24 hrs and then no and 24 hrs and then no but... dang man, he kept on covering for other peoples shifts jaja and I don't know how he is alive. CARLOS haha he is something else but we just love him and ya this week he is gonna get baptized if its the last thing I do! 

15 familias is coming along we are still searching for more and more! This week it was just a lot of teaching, finding....having stake outs in front of Carlos's house because he wasn't answering his phone and we were worried he was gonna get home from work and then go to sleep and we wouldn't be able to find him jaja but all is well now we are going to see him tonight! 

Funny story of the week... so Isabel y Augustine; we love them so much and well we don't love their house. let me describe it to you.... they would be number 1 candidates for the tv show Hoarders (or how ever you spell it)! Their bedroom isn't awful... that is where we teach them... but the rest of the house... you look into the other rooms and there is just piles and piles of crap and garbage and on the roof trash bags full of who knows what man oh man we need to do a service project for them! But anyways we went and ate with them Tuesday because they signed up to feed us and so we ate sopes a nice traditional mexi food that is really good and harmless... well at least we thought so! The next day hna Woodford threw up 6 times and then once the day after it was terrible poor thing! We are pretty sure that the lemonade (agua de limon) they used the tap water and not filtered water and yeah... who knows but it was not too good! I mean my stomach felt a little bit weird but that is normal here but yeah it was bad so Wednesday we were not able to leave the house all day so we just studied, wrote our talks for Sunday because we both spoke yesterday and we watched the testaments and the josé smith movie and hna Woodford was mad because I only have that one is spánish haha! But it was just a grand time and luckily la familia Peña helped us out with meds and all that jazz! Oh how I love them. The nice thing was I was able to clean the house really well Wednesday... like hardcore deep clean so yay! But we were glad to get out of the house Wednesday morning and work! 

    This week hmm what else happened... really I feel like I just wrote like two days ago I cant believe it has already been a week! We are half way done with this cycle and I am afraid I am gonna leave in three weeks because hna Woodford might train... it would be so good for her and she is totally ready but we don't want to get switched!!! Today we discovered that we both LOVE sytycd and yes i was Hna how have we never known this before this is groundbreaking in our friendship haha we really don't want to get switched because then we can be together for Christmas and you guys can all meet her in skype!  We will see but if she trains I will be happy for her and I know she will keep on killing it here! Time is flying by because life in the mission is so much happier because you are worried about other people and not about yourself! but yes good thing I still have a year ish left! Also all this news about the church is crazy and I don't understand how people can be so stupid. The gospel really is SO SIMPLE! These people just need to take and study PMG ch 3 and then pray about it and yeah they will stop being dumb... but yes satanás he is a powerful one and sometimes he really knows how to confuse people! 

We took Odaylis a cake for her birthday last Monday.
This is in the tienda.

   Other things that happened this week hmmm... well not to much just  alot of finding new people and helping our investigators right now keep all their commitments and gain a testimony! Luz and Odayls are doing good yesterday we went in to their tienda a little bit after we had dropped Odayls off from church and we were talking about how we can get all of them to church and everything and we lent them the Testaments to watch in their tienda as a Sunday activity and then we were like okay we need to pray and we will see you guys Tuesday because we need to go to another cita and she was like no stay with us watch the movie you guys can eat what ever you want in the tienda and I was like no hna we have to help other people too jaja and then she was like okay well can we at least give you some peaches so we were like okay and then she was like oh and a drink.. and then when we had finished oh and eat this pizza and oh have another ... haha we were like LUZ we need to go, other peoples salvation is important too hahah she was like okay hnas its okay but they were trying so hard to make us stay and watch the movie with them.  haha we love them and I think they will be baptized on my birthday... best present ever!!!!!!!! 

One of the many paintings on our walk from home to the Stake Center.

 Sorry I don't have alot of fotos just ones we took on our walk home from the stake center today because we went and played soccer and basket ball with our district and some members in different wards and it was fun and nice to be outside running around... not like we don't do that everyday because we are always late to citas hahah but no it was fun! I am glad all is well at home and Katie's house is all nice and finished, and you guys are enjoying the high life flying to cali for 6 flags and cool things like that! Mom, I am glad you had fun with your gang up in Payson, that cabin sounds way too posh and I am glad you got to see Jackie!  Well I must go but I love you all and gracias for the fotos! 

Izcalli - Holla

Hey there fam! 

Sounds like you guys are all good and enjoying life and all that jazz! This week was crazy there was so mucho work to do and man I am tired but that's okay because we are working our hardest! We had alot of people to see and lots of contacting to do to find 15 famalies. So we took the map of our area and we divided it into 17 parts and assigned a number for every part or colonia as they call it here... anyways what we have been doing when we don't have scheduled teaching appts is we pray in the morning first personally and ASK with all our HEARTS!!!!! Where in the world heavenly father wants us to go and contact that day in order to find a family. And then we take all the number we felt impressed to write down we tell each other and then we do it again... and then we talk about our number pick like 3 or 5 that really stuck out to us and then we pray together as a companionship and we choose 1 or 2 numbers (areas) to contact in for like an 1 our 2 depending on how much free time we have. Anyways so this week we were able to do that twice because we had no appts scheduled and the 1st day we did it and was amazing like we found this guys named Miguel Angel and we were just talking to him outside of his house and then it rained like not even a second and he said AHHHH its raining you guys are gonna get sick if we were out here here come inside we can talk and you can meet my family........................................ we were both like YESSSS! so we went in taught a little bit of the restoration and taught him the importance of prayer and how we should pray and then he prayed and we set up a cita.... and yeah milagro! It was really cool and so yeah that happened this week which was good... and then we went to the CV with Isabel and Augustine and they want to get married!!!! Now we just need to help them find the money because they are really really poor and its 600 pesos (which is really cheap but still 600 pesos they don't have) But we are way excited for them. Isabel is doing so well and she got her answer and knows the church is true. She had a dream and in the dream there was a bunch of different churches and each time she would try to enter one it would not feel right and then she would go to a different one and then when she walked into the capilla she said she felt something like she has never felt before and she KNOWS the church is true and loves everything about it! Ah man we love her. At the CV the pics that I always forward to you mom, well the investigadores can get those printed out there in the CV for GRATIS (free) anyways so they got their pic and the next day we went over for our cita and there was our pic from the CV framed sitting on top of their TV .... my heart melted. Me and hna woodford were like #blessed jajaj we love Isabel and Augustine is doing better. At first he was always like NO hnas I cant go on Sunday ... more like I won't go almost. But he really loved the CV and felt the spirit and this Sunday he is commited and we have already worked everything out to were he can go just for the sacrament and then yeah. He better not bail on us... we wont let him. 

   hmmm what else happened this week.... CARLOS PASSED HIS BAPTISMAL INTERVIEW! I think I have explained the first time we met Carlos we thought he was drunk... but he really wasn't he is just slow. Well we have taught him the restoration SO MANY TIMES! Because he doesn't remember and he learns like a child but we helped him with everything, he understands, he is reading everyday in the book of Mormon and now he is gonna get baptized this week and he is excited and we are excited for him. I don't think i have ever met someone that needs the holy ghost more in their life... I feel like once he receives it he is gonna progress alot! 

what we do when we get locked in the gated areas... 

wait and pray for someone to come 

Also this week Luz y Odylis.... hmm well we had just finished a really spiritual lesson like the spirit was so strong and we had shared how the gospel really does bless famailes and it was really powerful and Luz was like crying. But then after we prayed they were like hnas we have a question we heard that the bishop and elders  rape the children and that's why we won't  go we are afraid....... and we were like .................... ummmmmmm...................... WHAT WHO TOLD YOU THIS BLASPHEMY? So we explained everything and they were still a little unsure but we told them they just need to pray about everything and really ask God if this is what he wants for them. So we saw them last night and they were like hnas we know what we heard was not true this church wouldn't do that... so yay we were worried there. Now everything is good and today is Odylis birthday and we are taking her a cake and everything and gonna try to make her life a little more happy! There is a lot of work here and I can't believe this cycle is half way done, I think hna woodford might train and that I might have to leave Izcalli in 3 weeks... I don't want to. But I think pres would want her to train because she is one of the few hijas that is actually happy in the mish so yeah we will see. I hope I can stay till January but we will see. Oh also guess what I turn 20 in like 3 and a half weeks CRAZY! 

Also Mom to answer yours questions..(I asked her if she liked the country better then the city);  I like it a lot here.. the people here are just a little bit more happy and not as rushed! Also because there is pretty hills to look at when we are walking around and everything! And last p-day we had a zone activity, so we played soccer and volleyball and ate food and yeah nothing to crazy! Today we had to go find a notary because hna woodford needs to release the title of her car that is already sold.. haha but she has to have original documents of everything and the notery here in Mexico is 2000 pesos! #ripoff haha so now she needs to figure out what to do with her car. I am happy and I am blessed to be here in the mish! I hope you are all doing good and everything! I will talk to you guys next week! 

Izcalli - 7 Meses

Fam! 

We went and put this on the familia Peñas door ahah they loved it!

     Well familia, this week I hit the 7 month mark here in the mish... crazy right! This week was short since the last time I wrote you but hey its all good... we have had some challenges this week with some of our solid investigators. Isabel is still going strong, she is golden she just needs to get married and she will be perfect! Carlos is a little crazy he told us he didn't want to get baptized this last Sunday but he is just confused and we will help that man out to get his mind straight! haha but all is well. This last week we did have divisons AGAIn but it was with the hermanas in our zone and it was good... one of the new hermanas is having trouble in the mish and her comp is latina so we did speacial divisones so she could have an american to talk to and all that and I hope she will be getting better, poor thing is sad but honestly the best fixer for that is to WORK! Then your mind is not on the mission, it is on different things that don't matter! As for us, we are happy here in Izcalli and there is a lot to do but hey we are doing it with a smile that makes all the difference!

   This week we were told that the goal for this month is to find 15 families so that is what we are working on because if we find 15 at least 3 should get baptized in DEC! 

 It sounds like all is well at home and too bad Chris´s season ended but hey that is the best Gilbert has done in a while so yay! 

This week Odylis ... kuz´s daughter went to the capilla with us and we were so happy she is so golden and really loves the church and is reading in the book of Mormon and is only 10, she is like another Alisson, remember my old convert?  She is awesome because that girl goes to work with her mom every day to help her mom with the baby or even just run the store and she is only 10!!!! But we are super pumped for this month and we have a lot of good ideas and goals to get the work going even more and haha yes I got the email from grandma about mi hija yup she is famous and one of the elders was like hna this week, "I got an email for my family and I didn't know you were famous... haha we were laughing so hard! Today we had a zone activity and played... the usual soccer... I am terrible but hey I am getting better and hna woodford is helpful and we are gonna start practicing more in the morning! 

Sorry, there is not a whole lot to write... one of my old investigators from Moctezuma got baptized last week I was so happy... he was the sons of Jorge and Anna who were so close to getting baptized but their dang christian pastor prophet thing won them over.. and because they were not reading in the libro de mormon... but hey i am just happy some of the work we did with that family over there paid off!!!!  This Sunday was sad because only 3 of our investigators got to church and we were way sad but then after we realized maybe its because heavenly father has someone else that we need to find... like a family so everything is all good and we are excited to get to work this week!!!!!!!! 

I love you all so much have a good week and keep on being happy!!!

Selfie with Isabel y Augustine

Selfie again with Luz y Odelis

We were at the temple this past week.

Woodard and Glouser came to visit us

Izcalli - What up fam?

Querido familia! I am so glad you guys are all doing so good and enjoying life! Mexico is GREAT! We had transfers yesterday and GUESS WHAT! .......................

  

    I am still here in Izcalli with mi hija Hna Woodford! WE are so happy and were pretty sure that we would stay but with this Presidente anything is possible so yeah we are way happy! They changed the Elders in our ward so that will be a bit different and hopefully they are hard workers! Everything is so so good! This last week and a half was great... so much happened. First of all we are happy because we have so many people progressing right now here in Izcalli and we are starting to see the fruits of our hard work! Not gonna lie, opening an area is not the easiest especially because it takes a bit of time to see progress with everything but yeah 6 weeks later and everything is GOLDEN! Carlos is getting ready to be baptized the 8th of Nov and is doing really well... he's just a bit slow and we teach him like I would teach Seth but hey he gets it and has a testimony; so snaps to him! Then there is Magali... she needs to get married and guess what last night we talked to her and she and her husband are DOWN! Yes my second marriage in the mish so we are gonna plan that and it will be before the 22nd of Nov because that is her baptism date! She is awesome and so excited and we love her and her cute little girl! Then there is Isabel and Augustine and they need to get married and we are gonna talk to them about it tonight but I think they would be down for it... I hope .... pray for them haha! But Isabel is a solid she is ready the book of Mormon everyday for an half and hour to an hour.. she started last week and I think is almost in Mosiah... we love her! And then Iztel needs to get married but we are working with them and then we have Luz and Odylis... I don't think I can even explain how much I love them.  

Activita de barrio

Isabel & Augustine & us

We were not ready for this pic; with Magali

  I am gonna tell you a little story about her. So her husband has been in prison for 2 years and has 6 more to go... we don't know why... I think something with swindling money or algo... but when he got arrested she had a 8 month old baby and had just gotten pregnant again... they were living 2 hours away from her family in Teluca or how ever you spell it and they had a good life... she was a stay at home mom and everything was good. And then their whole world flipped up side down because he was accused of doing something.  They think one of his business  partners set him up and so she had to move her 3 kids, all their stuff, pregnant back to Ecatepec.  She had to  move in with her parents and start working  nights in her dad's store and wash peoples clothes in the mornings when her kids are at school... Luz is only 28! Her life is so hard right now and we just love her ... and she has accepted the gospel and is so excited to get baptized... but she would never pray at our citas always her daughter or yeah but last week we were like NO LUZ YOU NEED TO ! and we wouldn't take no for an answer because she has been doing her personal prayers but would never pray with us... so after some stubbornness on both parts she started to pray and ..... she ended just bawling and we were all just ahhh and it was so strong and the spirit was just ahhh... as missionaries you live for moments like that when the spirit is just so strong and your investigadores are so in tune and it was so great... highlight of the week.  Man I love them. 

   We also had a fecha with the butcher that works by one of our investigadores and he is a bible basher and he was a reference from one of the hnas in our ward... but she wanted us to bring the elders because they can actually speak Spanish ... but we were like ... NO. haha it doesn't need to be a debate we just need to teach simply to make him feel the spirit and yeah! FECHA! We are pumped because he has a family and he goes to a church that still believes keeping the Sabbath day holy is Saturday... but once we explained, the priesthood and authority and revelation he was like WOW and yeah I think he will be pretty cool! We are trying to meet with his family too! 

 But yeah as you can tell I am VERY HAPPY! The other week I was just thinking about how I was before the mish and I think I am gonna be weird like (one of her brothers who will not be named) when I get home but it's just because being a missionary, well I have never ever been happier in my life! And I just know it's because I am in the service of the Lord and helping people find the hope in their lives to keep on going and putting their faith in Christ.  Man oh man I just love it here! Our ward is great... at first they were all kinda cold but now that we are bring a lot of investigators to things they have really embraced the investigators and are more willing to help us... especially the Bishop... but he still will not let the missionaries go to ward council ... but we are working on it!  

Selfie before Divisions
with Hna Chavez and  Houghton

Yesterday, there was a ward activity to make pan de muertos ( popular bread because dia de los muertos is this Sunday and Monday) and all the lights went out because there was a big thunder storm so we went and bought candles from Luzs tienda and took them to the capilla and yeah we kept on going with the ward activity! It was fun and hna woodford has pics of it and I will send them when she sends them to me... and the pics I forwarded are from the ward activity the other week... that is the family Pena in the pictures they live above us and we LOVE THEM! Its the best living with members because when we have problems they are so willing to help us and she makes the BEST FOOD! also this last week we had divisiones and I went to a different area and on the way home we got lost but we taught our car driver the Restoration but we were really lost hahah! That's okay we made it back 3 hours later and everything was all GUCCI but Presidente was laughing at us! Today we did go to the temple but didn't go in because I guess in our mission we can only go every 4 months... lame but hey we get to go during the mish so it is all good! We went because hna woodford needed to buy things from the distribution center!

Dia de los muertos pan making

So yeah that is our week and a half for ya! I am happy Res came over and got to hold Cole before me... love his nickname!  I love you all and I will send pics in a little bit.. Chris, good luck with football! Love you all and gracias for the pics eh!

Driver that we got lost with & taught the restoration

My fav little girls in the ward

con muchísimo amor,

Dana