A Ginger Takes on Mexico: Xalapa is in my blood

This last week honestly feels like a huge blur. We went to Xalapa twice for some AMAZING conferences but the whole week feels kind of scrambled hahaha. It is weird how doing something different from the ordinary routine can throw someone off so much.

Look up the Teziutlan disaster of 1999....it is awful. What happened behind the Panteon is in our area.

Hna P broke down a little one day, realizing that just knowing the doctrine isn't the same as being able to teach it. She has really high expectations for herself, which is great!!!! But she also needs to realize that she isn't perfect and that a lot of stuff will come with time. I always tell her 'No pasa nada'. If we are doing our very best, Heavenly Father can't ask for more. But we know when we are giving 100% and when we are not. If we are giving it our all, He will make up in the areas that we are lacking. That is what is so beautiful about His plan and missionary work! We are imperfect young adults called to teach something completely perfect. Heavenly Father trusts in us enough to put His children in our hands in this learning period. Lots of responsibility.

A man who drives one of the little bus things here sees us EVERYWHERE, and always buys us pan or gives us platanos. hahhaha we aren't complaining.

I have heard from a very reliable source that Hna M - from Xalapa en barrio Olivo - is working on getting divorced from her first husband so then she can get married to her husband right now!!! IT IS SOME OF THE BEST NEWS I HAVE HEARD IN MY WHOLE MISSION!!! I will literally sacrifice my arm and leg to be at her baptism.

Conference with Elder Pino - He and his wife talked a lot about humility. I think that is something that every one of us can improve on. It is amazing to be sitting there and to feel the Spirit testifying to me that they are servants of our Heavenly Father. He also explained to us the process of assigning mission calls - to emphasize that WE are HERE for a REASON. You could have heard a pin drop in that room...is was AMAZING!!!

Conference with Elder Christiensen and Elder Pieper - Elder C talked for about an hour, and then the rest of the time was Q and A. IT WAS SO COOL!!! I got to ask a question to a member of the presidency of the seventy. Once again, the Spirit filled up the room like a tsunami wave. Wow wow wow. I got to ask him something that I feel like I have been struggling with for a little while....How do I find the balance between having perfect faith while at the same time recognizing that everyone has agency and that my faith is not going to fix everything. He said a whole lot of great things, but something that really stood out was I need to maintain my vista en el Señor y amar a las personas. If we love these people, we are always going to care about them, but we are also going to be able to trust in God's timing and His plan. How lucky am I? I cannot believe I got to listen to 3 members of the Setenta this week. Things like that don't happen every day! I really feel very blessed.

S - she has been praying earnestly, reading is another story though. AAAHHHHH. She tells us how she knows how important it is to read but then she does not do it. However, we did how some great lessons with her this week and after a lesson that was pretty much Q and A, she told us that she feels that Joseph Smith was a prophet called of God and that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet!!! The spirit was incredible in the lesson and basically it was just fantastic :)

D - We had a good talk with D and she ended up breaking down :( poor girl has no support from her mom. Her mom doesn't even care if she eats or other important things for the well being of her child. I can't imagine having a life like that :( but we have to have a good relationship with her mom because she is the one who needs to sign the form saying that D can be baptized. We are working on that

M - still hasn't had any coffee!!! YAYYYY!!!!!! We taught him the Law of Chastity....no problems there! Relief. He still doesn't have a testimony of Joseph Smith though. These past couple of weeks his family has had a lot of trials and he has been running around everywhere, but things are calming down and he will be able to focus more in the questions that he has. Prayer and scripture study are just SO IMPORTANT!!!!

F y P - we taught them the Word of Wisdom oficially and TURNS OUT that since that day when we showed up and F was completely drunk, he hasn't had a drop of alcohol. YAYYYYY :) They are now super excited to continue a life of drinking soda and water and juice :)

Love, Hermana Westergard