Moctezuma - Este Semana

Dear Fam,

  It's official I have completed a cycle in the mish! #holla This past week and a half have been crazy. I don't  even know where to start. Well last week we had hoped for the baptism of Angela on Thursday....but her mom, Lupe decided that Angela wasn't ready so yeah that didn´t work out. It was so so so sad and we were really bummed because Angela is totally ready and loves going to church. She speaks English so she speaks spanglish to us and she kinda scares us but its what eves. But this last week was Hna. Rhotens half birthday so we convinced one of her converts to buy us pastel so yeah that was pretty bomb because we were sad about Angela. 

Heywood & Rhoten:  Winners of the Zone Challenge!!

We also started clases de ingles this week and they are going pretty good! its fun to be teaching people English and to not be the one that cant speak. We also went to a baby shower for a lady that is in the Ward and we brought Ana with us (Jorge´s wife) she keep on saying after man i didn't like that i LOVED IT! Because she doesn´t want to get baptized because she loves her Christian church and she thinks she has seen miracles when people talk in the gift of tongues and roll around on the floor even though they just have the devil in them... lol its whatever. So we figured that the only way she will get baptized is by making friends in the Ward and going to all the activities. Then on Sunday, her and Jorge finally came to sacrament meeting and then had to leave right after sacrament because her bro in law was coming in town. So after church we went back to their house and we went to a baptism with them and had them have their  interviews after. Jorge passed with flying colors because he actually reads and prays and has a testimony...Ana no because she doesn't read the Book of Mormon and is obsessed with her church...but that's okay we kinda saw that coming. Jorge was sad though because he wants to get baptized with Ana but she doesn't want it at all! Anyways we told him we would fast with him so he could feel sure and he was down for that. Yesterday we went to their house to start the fast and it just felt different there...like they were not the same. And he told us he couldn't fast because he wouldn't be able to make it 24 hours or even 12 and we were super sad because he doesn't have faith. And then he told us he doesn't want to get baptized because he doesn't know like we do and tatata... so yeah he broke our hearts yesterday and we went home and started the fast without him and yeah it was sad we might have cried...but its just so hard when you have these families you teach and care so much about and love and they just don't get it! AHHH its just so hard because you picture them in temple White and can just see them getting sealed and then bam Satan Works hard on them because he knows they would be awesome members and they have all these doubts and start to doubt everything and yeah its hard. WE are not giving up on them though barbecue he know they will get baptized just in a longer time then we would like. But their son that is 7, Alejandro is literally a future 70, no lie he is so good, he reads and prays and he always says he's Mormon and stands up to his mom when she doubts things about the church and he yeah its so so good! He turns 8 in October so if I am not here in Moctezuma I am coming back for his baptism.....

  On another note, one of the funniest weirdest things that happened this last week was we had a reference that we went to go contact and they own a salón de fiestas....like a party hall where all the mexis go for parties and stuff....anyways banging on the door we knew it was gonna be good. Anyways this mexi man opens the door that looks just like Doc from "Back to the Future" but with curly hair. And he was like, "Aahh sisters welcome please come in" and we went in and he had EVERY pamphlet and the book of Mormon and like everything and he was like well I have been Reading this book and I have a question about page 128 or something like that (where it talks about the great abominable church) and wanted us to explain it to us...and then we got talking and he kept on observing us and was telling me that I am an artista for how I held my hands when we taught and Hna. Rhoten has the hands of a worker or something just like weird. And then we started telling us our horoscope and and this stuff and was just really entertaining and then when we were getting ready to leave he decided to read our palms and the said that I am a very diligent person that doesn't like to stop something till it is done and then we was telling us how we both have good hearts and courage jaja then Hna. Rhoten was like how many kids am I gonna have and he was staring at her hand for a while and was like wow hermana there is so many I can't count...hahah we were laughing so hard after! But yeah, that was a nice good laugh for our depressing week. 

We did end up winning the Book of Mormon challenge and the Elders made us french toast before district class! holla! Oh and also yeah Griselda sent you a pic that we took after we ate at her house. Her apt is like straight up America and it feels so good to be there. She made us fish and this like amazing crab stuff man oh man it was so so good! She is way cool she is like 50ish and her husband is away working till August so she gets really excited when we go to eat with her and goes all out! But yeah she sent you that pic of us on the couch I think, she is way cool and you guys will have to meet her one day even though you probs won't be able to understand her...I barely can! Also this past Monday, we went to the delgacion with Alma y Nacho to set up a date for them to get married. They are supposed to be getting married this friday!!!! But they just called us today (as we were making their wedding cake) to say they have a problem with the money because their son got in trouble and got into a fight with a gang and now its a big mess and they have to pay for a lawyer so they can't pay for their wedding!  That's a bit of a problem but we will work through it and they might have to wait till next week to get married which is a downer but hey that's okay! Nacho still needs to cut back on the cigs before his baptism so you know maybe its a good thing we are giving them a little bit more time. We went to the church to make the cake because we don't have an oven and every Mexican has an oven but they don't know how to use them...they just store stuff in them. haha Marianne could move here and she would be norm storing all her stuff in the oven. But yeah we also made tomato soup and bomb sandwiches to break our fast today.  

We also had to go to the offices today to get a couple things and I met one of the new sisters that got here yesterday. She looked really overwhelmed and I was just so happy I am not in her shoes anymore and I kinda know a Little bit more of what I am doing! Also Monday is when we found out if we would be staying together and staying in Moctezuma and the Elders had been messing with us for like a week saying they heard they were gonna take hna. Rhoten somewhere else and all this stuff and anyways when Monday came around, they called to tell us what was going down and said that hna. Rhoten was getting transferred and we freaked out.....then they called us back like 5 mins later and were like jk....yeah that was a scary stressful five minutes!!! haha but that's okay!

  Also this week we went to go teach Gaby, Alison's  stepsister and we usually teach them outside their  house....anyways its started to sprinkle so we made a fort out of blankets and taught them in a fort it was really fun! Those girls are so fun we are glad we get to teach golden people like them! 

Teaching in a tent!

But yeah the work is great here...there is just a lot of curve balls being thrown at us but we will get through and keep on working hard. It sounds like everything is great at home and in Jackson...that is too bad about Grandpa´s car. I hope Dad had a good fathers day and Jared's birthday was good. The lip synching contest thing sounded fun, I am glad the boys could represent! But hey random question Edguardo (or however you spell his name) Is he gonna be at the temple dedication here?  I member that he is in charge of some temples and I didn't know if that means he would be here. WE still don't know what is going down with the open house but I am sure we will find out sometime this cycle. Also that pic with Chris and Hudson is so stinking cute...he is a cute Little kid. 

Mexico is great and the work is great. I am good and healthy and alive so don't worry about me. Please just pray for Jorge and the familia Diez...Angelas family! Also mom if you haven't sent that package maybe throw in a bag of mints or something because when we give the kids mints they get so excited because its american Candy haha! Also gracias for the pictures.  When you get back to AZ can you send me the pics from when I got set apart oh and also from my baptism. Also the story from Grandpa Bobby's history about his talk with President Boyd K Packer, the one he told me not long before he died. But yeah everything is good I love you all so much and thank you for being good examples in my life and always making me keep the Sabbath day holy it is such a blessing as I teach about it to know I have always partaken of the sacrament even on vacation! I love you all and keep on having a good summer!


peace an blessins

Dana (hermana heywood)

Moctezuma - Esta Semana

Hola Familia! Esta semana fue muy bien! Tuvimos mucho trabajo y muchas personas a ver!

First of all feliz cumpleaños Jared! 

On Tuesday, we had clase de zona and the zone leaders started a competition and said whoever passed out the most book of Mormons and got the most baptismal dates this week they would make us breakfast before dististic class the next tuesday...and me and Rhoten being as competitive as we are; went to town and placed 39 book of Mormons from Tuesday to Sunday and had some really cool experiences. Of course we were lead by the spirit when placing all the BOM´s we weren't just handing them out without teaching about them so it was cool and we found a lot of really cool people that we were gonna go back to teach this week so that is cool! And we won the competition #holla #wecantstop,  Also Alisson got confirmed this Sunday so that was good! The coolest thing about her baptism is we fasted that it would be a really spiritual experience so her family that went who are not members could feel the spirit. So anyways that Monday after we went to go see Alisson and she wasn't there but her step sister was and she wanted the lessons because she liked how she felt at the baptism and now she has a baptismal date for July 12! She is 13 and just as cute as Alisson and super smart and she will be good. Her name is Gaby. Also we are teaching Alisson's half sister too, her name is Ingrid she is 16. She is really smart but kinda rebellious so we are trying to figure out how to better connect with her but we think if we just give her a lot of attention and be good friends and good examples she will turn around! Also we are starting to teach classes of english this saturday so I will tell you how that goes. A lot of people have been asking us to teach some so we figured might as well try it and see if we can get a good amount of investigators to go! 

  One of the best parts of this week was Nacho finally decided he wanted to get baptized and him and his girlfriend Alma are gonna get married next week! He his also working on quitting smoking but he has a strong testimony and he know´s its true!! So hopefully we will have some good pics from their wedding next week! Also this week we had a noche de cine in the chapel and it went pretty good. We were gonna watch "Meet the Mormons" because familia Galicia (who we live under) has the DVD but they went to Merida this week because Issac their son was gonna propose to his novia (an old sister missionary from here, she actually left the transfer I got her lol its a crazy story ask me in a year and a half to tell you the whole story because I don't have time) and they took the movie with them because they forgot about the noche de cine this Saturday! But its all good we just watched the Joseph Smith movie instead. and It was really good because an hour before we taught the resturacion to one of our new families of investigators and they all came to the cine so it was good that they just learned about Joseph Smith and then watched the movie about him an hour later. So yeah it worked out better. 

  Yesterday we went to the CV (visitor center) with Jorge y Ana and the niños and it was really good.

The CV is super cool and really high tech here so it is a nice Sunday activity and there are so so so many missionaries there on Sunday nights. So that is fun because sometimes we see missionaries from our mish! Oh also we heard, don't know if this is true or not, but we heard that all the Hermanas will be pulled out of their areas for the temple open house and we will be working it from 9 am to 9 pm so we will see if that really happens. Me and Rohten are anxious to hear what really is gonna go down. And yes she convinced her family to let her stay so she will extend so she can work the first couple days of the open house. 

  Mexico is great and there is A TON of work to do here but I love it and I love being busy. I hope you guys all have fun in Jackson it sounds like its gonna be crazy with everyone leaving and coming and yeah. And don't worry mom I am not bummed with your vacations just don't go to Europe okay! jaja But how can I be bummed when I am beautiful crazy Mexico eating juicy mangoes and teaching the gospel #blessed!  Also next week is transfers so I won't write till Wednesday. Also just to give you a better idea of where the heck I am in Mexico city; we are right next like so so close to the air port and only like 10 15 minutes away from the temple. WE are like literally almost at the bottom boundary of the mission. So its kinda noisy with all the airplanes and sometimes they are really really close but Moctezuma is pretty sweet!!! This morning when we were hanging up our laundry I took a pic of our view from the roof.

Have fun in Jackson and just know that I love you all so much! I hope you all have a good safe summer...man if you guys only knew how nice it is outside here...when people are like, "Sisters isn't it so hot" and then I tell them I am from AZ they are like oh jajaja never mind this is nothing for you....because it really isn't bad its perfect. Anyways I love you all have a good week!!!

This is our temple chart I had to draw for our Ward family history goal
of taking 200 names to the temple when it opens! 

Love Hermana Heywood 

Moctezuma - What a Week

Well well well another week as come and gone and we only have two more left of my very first cycle aquí in the beautiful but sketchy Cuidad de México! I really do love it here and the Spanish has gotten better; like it just gets better every single day and I am able to understand a little bit more each day and speak more each day. So yeah it is great and I can´t tell you how much I love it here and being busy in the Lord's work is so freaking cool! 

So highlight of the week was for sure the Bautismo de Alisson! Oh man, I can't even express how much I love that girl. I think I have talked about her before but she is 10 and is now the only member in her family and she is so strong and I can just see her being an amazing member of the church and an amazing missionary in 9 years. For real, she is awesome anyways so her bautismo was Sunday and it went really well. Before that we went and passed by her house to pick her up and get a ride with some members to church. She is a golden child because she is always ready early in her cute church clothes waiting for us. usually we have to wake the people up because church is at 8:30 but no she is always ready and so excited to go to church. We were explaining how it was Fast Sunday and we had the opportunity to share our testimonies and she got super excited and told us she was going to. So she did and her testimony was so good and you wouldn´t think she was 10 if you didn´t know her. When she bore her testimony it was about how she was excited to get baptized and start her journey to gain eternal life and live with Christ again.  Hermana Rhoten and I were just so touched and honestly I almost cried, I was so happy to see how the gospel can help someone's life. Her baptism went really well too! Her aunt and two cousins are members in our ward so they helped and brought cake and drinks and we prepared a musical number and it was just really nice. Her Dad ended up coming and her step sister so that was good. The ward is awesome here and there was good support from the ward for her. We sang a Jenny Philips song "Happily Ever After" but in Spanish of course with her cousin Frieda and Tia and it was so so so good and she was crying and her dad (who is a cold cold man) even shed a tear or two! It was great and the spirit was so so so strong and then when she was entering the font the water was really cold and she was freaking out and shivering and it was so funny. When Issac (the member we live with who baptized her) finished the prayer she was like no it's to cold to go under but she did it super fast and it was really funny and I was trying so hard not to laugh too loud but yeah she is precious and I know her future will be bright because of her choice to become a member of the true church #holla!

Isaac, Allison, Hna Rhoten and Hna Heywood

Her hair was on point! 

Wow, amazing cake they made for Alisson's baptism day.

   This week we also went with the zone leaders to their area because they have some investigators who think they are rapists, so we went to show them that missionaries are not only boys and that we do not rape people lol so that was good! But man their area is sketch I can see why Hermanas are only in certain areas even though some strange things happen here too...like being flashed by nasty mexi men..ya know just grand stuff like that! But life is great! Also this week we were busy inviting EVERYONE to "La Noche de Cine" (a night of the movie) which is this Saturday in the chapel.  We will be watching meet the Mormons which not a lot of people have seen her because it just came out in the theaters a little bit ago here and its only in the visitor center for free! So a lot of people are excited about that and we will have refreshments and just have a fiesta! 

  This week we have just been super busy teaching all our investigators with a baptism date...right now we have 11 but only 5 went to church yesterday so yes lots of work there. A big focus in the mish and in the stakes here in the city has been keeping the Sabbath day holy because there is a lot of members but they are lazy and don't go to church or get there late because its early...or go and buy tortillas in the street and pan or yeah just stuff like that. Tell Chris he has been blessed immensely  by keeping the Sabbath day holy and taking the sacrament this last week. It will help him so much and that is something he can share with his investigators when he is a missionary how they need to keep the Sabbath day holy and his experience with this. Chris, one day you are gonna help people on your mission and you are gonna pray and fast that they can change their lives and obey the commandments of God so keep on doing the same thing and you will be able to help so many people and bless their lives. Also you are being a good example to your  friends that think football is more important than taking the sacrament pshh! 

Mom, to answer your questions. yes we eat with members todos los dias but we eat with them at comida which is usually like at 2 or 3 and it is the biggest meal here in mexi. We always have soup, totillas and then some kinda of chicken. Oh also this week there was another attack of the green chiles but Hermana Rhoten thinks is gastriets or something idk how to spell it so I took the medicine she had for it and BAM I felt way better and didn´t even have to throw up to feel better #holla #blessed. For breakfast I either make oatmeal or Hna. Rhoten will make me a smoothie because she is a saint and a great mish madre! Life is good and sounds like everything is good at home and no I don't think its a big mexi thing to cry when you see a hand made quilt idk people are too poor here to have the luxury of handmade quilts so maybe they would cry. 

 Oh also yes, we are starting to do a big family history thing with our ward. In the mish its not a huge focus but our ward is really good however there is never ward activities or anything like that so that is me and Hna. Rhotens goals here to unite the ward more and get more missionary work done with more activities. WE are planning a pioneer day activity and our ward mission leaders are super excited about it so if you have any good ideas we would love them! Also this next Saturday we are having a kick off type of thing because we are making a ward goal to have 2 names per person ready for when the temple opens so we can go as a ward and do temple work! NO we didn't get to watch the funeral but grandma sent me some good quotes from it. Also gracias for the pictures it is much appreciated! I just want to say that I love you guys so much and I am so blessed to have a family that is supportive in me serving a mission! 

We got ice cream today after grocery shopping and the banana split was super cheap like $5 in U.S. money so we split it and BAM it was so fancy and so good!

Love you all peace and blessings #swagindasistahood

Love your fav Hermana, 

Dana

Monteczuma - Holla from Mexi

Hola family, 

  Well another week has come and gone and guess what I officially made it another month in the mish. It is weird because I feel like I haven´t been gone that long but I have learned so much things about myself, the gospel, Spanish etc. CRAZY. 

It was a good busy week.  We had a lot of citas and IDK if you looked up Valentins Mormon Message but we have been teaching a lot of his family. The thing about Mexico is families will occupy buildings full of little apartments so when you go into the building everyone that is family will come out and talk to us. Anyways, we were teaching his sister's family and all the little cousins came in and listened to our lesson and afterwards we counted and there was like 9 children just sitting in on a lesson haha it was funny and we felt like primary teachers. Also we went and found Rosa Maria the one who had the broken phone and she has a baptismal date for the end of the month and is so excited and wanted to know how long she had to wait to enter the temple and yeah she is pretty much golden we just need to teach her the word of wisdom lol. One of our struggles lately, is trying to get people married! We need to get Valentin's sister married to her novio before they and their kids can get baptized.  Nacho and Alma who we have been working with for a while...they need to get baptized and Nacho needs to stop smoking. But yeah we are working slowly but surely with them about eternal families and marriage etc. 

Oh but the highlight of the week had to have been when we met a profetes (girl prophet) yes that is right. We were teaching Anna and Jorge and then a lady for her church just happened to drop by and so we were talking with her and she just happened to be a profetes. It was quit the experience and she was crazy and it was kinda scary we think she had something in side of her because her eyes just did not look right. Luckily we had Valentin with us and his scriptural knowledge is like on point so we was able to answer and basically tell the demon lady she was wrong because he used scriptures. But it was jut crazy she was like testifying what she she believed or what ever and she was just basically yelling and you could not feel the spirit at ALL! But then when we would talk the spirit would be so so so strong so we are hoping Jorge and Anna realized the difference because right now their problem with not getting baptized is that she doesn't want to leave her crazy church that believes in the gift of tongues and crap like that. But yeah that was great. LOL

Mexico is great and Spanish is um okay i guess...it hard but I just need to open my mouth and have faith that the spirit will help me say something cohesive in espanol lol but its good. Funny things about Mexico are: the people here are TONE DEATH, like for real haha singing in church is funny because nobody can sing and so I sing melody and then I sound really bad because you all know I am not a soprano so yeah that is funny. Also at church Hna. Rhoten and I are always wiping lipstick off our cheeks because here you great everyone with a kiss and a hug so all the ladies at church always kiss us and then we have lips stuck on our cheeks until we realize and wipe it off. 

The food is good and the fruit is to die for. If Jared can he should send me the mango float recipe because mangos ahorita esta muy barrato and I want to make it and give it to the members we live with. I know there was sweetened condensed milk or something but what else? Sweetened condensed milk is super super popular here and people always put it on their postres. Also jello ahhh if I could tell you how much jello I have eaten haha I am getting more used to eating it but man, Parker and Dad would have been in heaven here because when ever we eat at a members house we have jello...and soup which is random but yes soup and jello are favs here in Moctezuma. 

Today we went to the gym that is across the street from us because it is only 30 pesos a day (super cheap) so we were there for a good hour and half this morning and it was a nice change from running in the cobble stone park! Plus the gym plays music so yeah its kinda nice listening to music while you work out that isn´t EFY songs haha. Oh also this Sunday, Alisson ,the linda 10 year old we have been teaching, is getting baptized so I will have some good pictures for that! She is so stinking cute I wish you could meet her because you would love her. But yeah Rhoten and I are really bad about taking pictures, so this week we have made it a goal to take a picture a day! She has the pictures from today so I will forward them in a little bit. But yes the work here is great and busy. WE are also teaching Cristian right now he is 19 and so smart and just get´s why he needs the gospel. He just needs to stop smoking but Hermana Rhoten and I have hope that he will go on a mission just because he understands why the gospel is so important. He also has family that are members that moved to Utah not to long ago. But yeah he is golden too! 

Another funny thing that happen this week was we were watching a movie with Nacho and Almo "Familias para Siempre", hoping it would want them to get married, anyways its an older 80´s church movie and the last song started singing "we can be together forever someday" like the same tune as the song we have to sing in the Forgotten Carols....anyways it made me laugh because it reminded me of Parker and how he always sings it! 

Sounds like summer is good and everyone is havin a grand old time. That is fun that Shawn came into town and got a nice taste of Arizona. 

Not much else happened this week just a lot of work and power-walking to citas that we were late for! Oh we also had zone conference and president gave a chart of the Book of Mormon and we have to finish it before the next zone conference so we have been reading out loud 11 pages a day in order to reach meta (goal). Oh and also Hna. Rhoten just extended to the middle ish of august because she didn´t want to leave before the open house started so yes I will have my mom for a little bit longer! 

Life is good and I am so grateful that I am able to be a part of the Lords work and for all the things I have learned. I love you all!

This picture is in the internet cafe we use every Monday and it makes me laugh...gotta love those Mexicans!

Hermana Heywood