Last P-Day, also mole is the name of the game

Well, last P-Day. This is weird. We literally worked so hard this week, going out with a bang!!!! We taught more lessons this week than we did in any other week in the transfer! I am NOT dying before my time is up. I haven't even really thought about how I am close to going home until last night when they gave us the cambios and that was when it really sunk in. I couldn't believe it!!!!! I still can't! Deep breathing. In and out. In and out. Hna D is going to be the new compañera de la Hna R and they are closing 2 areas of the hermanas here in Papantla. There are about 9 leaving and only 4 getting here, sad :(

We ate mole EVERY single day this week. Wow. My stomach is totally suffering.

Last district class, wow I was a mess. It was an AMAZING class though!! The Spirit was incredible. I felt like I felt an overwhelming love for all of the members of my district and I felt like I was seeing them all in a different light. I could feel Heavenly Father's gratitude for each of them being there and for their sacrifices. It made me think a lot about what I have learned here, and how I am going to apply it in my life when I get back. It is great!

Side note about the class that I gave last Sunday that I was wicked angry about giving. An hermana found us in the street and started telling us that her nieces LOVED the class and that they have been talking about it a lot and talking about what they can do so that they can go to the temple and do baptisms for their family. Her nieces aren't active and have some problems, but the hermana said she has seen a change in them since Sunday! SO, the class wasn't all for nothing :)

Sweating sweating and sweating some more. LIKE SO MUCH! We were contacting people and I couldn't even write in my agenda because the sweat as dripping down my arm and getting the page all wet. It was also dripping into my eyes and stinging them hahah so I couldn't really see either. I tried to keep talking to the man we were contacting but I just couldn't hold it back anymore and started laughing at myself and my situation because i couldn't believe what was happening. I excused myself for sweating so much and he told me not to worry about it and that we are all sweating a lot hahahaha. It is like we are walking all day in a sauna. Yes, that is what it is like. I have never been in a sauna, but I imagine that is what it is like.

We go running in the park in centro every morning hahahah and there are always a ton of drunk guys, I think they sleep in the park. But this new drunk showed up when we were running and he starts sprinting with everything he's got, meaning energy but also with his machete and sombrero hahahahahaha and then started doing pull-ups in the trees. It was quite a sight to see. 

We contacted 49 people this week, I wanted to contact 100, but we tried really hard!!! We contacted this really rude old lady and she obviously didn't want anything, as we were leaving we ran into her granddaughter. We started talking to her and told her that her abuelita didn't like us and she told us not to worry because her abuelita doesn't like anyone hahahha. We felt a little better after

M - we watched some videos with her about Christ's life and Joseph Smith. She understands them better than the normal lessons because she really can't hear anything hahah but when she can see what's happening, well that helps her a lot! She wanted to watch more and more and more, but we told her we had to same some for the next time! She told me she was going to tie me up like her pollos and give me food and water and change my clothes. It was sweet in a weird way, she doesn't want me to leave hahaha. But she also told me that the chain broke so we can't really do anything about it now hahahaha. I told her if I don't get married I am going to come down here and live with her, she said she would share her room with me! How sweet! We made tamales from the beginning with her! Her goal was to enchilarme, but it didn't work hahah and she ended up suffering from all the chile she put in the salsa, oh well! I really am going to miss her a lot.

Well this is it! I am SO EXTREMELY grateful that the Lord permitted me to serve here in His work. I know that this is true. I know it with my whole heart and I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet called of God and that the Book of Mormon is true. Plain and simple, it is true! I love Mexico, and I love these people. I know families can be together forever :)

Love, Hermana Westergard

With Hermana C

 MY DISTRICT :)

 M

making tamales!

tamales!!!!

Papantla

mi amigo de elotes asados

                                                                               K y K

 Hna T

Hna A made me mole!

missionaries with the obispo

some of the zone

Doña M es mi favorita

This whole cambio has kind of seemed to drag by to be honest, but this week FLEW by. AH!!!

Random things - we got a message from a number we don't know saying 'admirador suyo'. We think it is one of the investigadores that I met doing divisiones with Tajin and then he came to our ward in Voladores that Sunday.....hm....NOT OK. But we haven't seen him since so no worries.

We had consejo this week, and there wasn't really a message that was prepared, it was more just a consejo that talked about the problems in the mission and what we are going to do to improve and motivate others to have this desire to change also. It was very needed, I know that mission presidents are called to guide us and help instruct us in the path we need to go to achieve a mission of success!!

There were some hermanas who went to Xalapa for their visas and I was looking through their pictures and THEY WERE IN THE MTC WITH LYDIA!!!! such a small world!!!! hahaha i started freaking out....I think I scared the poor girls.

I said goodbye to Hna Q :( she is one of the LCH in Martinez so I got to see her. I LOVE THAT GIRL WITH MY WHOLE HEART! Honestly, she is more like a sister than a friend. I am going to miss her :( I also got to talk with Hna P on the phone. I MISS HER TOO!!! :( But she is working hard in Teziutlan. They are now working with Y, Y's twin brother! And I think he is going to be baptized this week! :) Y went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead and is in classes is prepare to receive the priesthood! It makes me happy to hear stuff like that.

T has been helping us out so much this week. She really is a blessing sent from heaven. She stayed with Hna R when I went to Xalapa on Monday and has gone around with us almost every day!

I did divisiones this week with Xanath. IT WAS SO WEIRD TO BE BACK IN THE AREA WHERE I STARTED MY MISSION! I got to see some of my old investigadores, and some of the members and they all seem mas o menos happy. There were 3 little girls that I talked with for a long time when I was there, and I got to go back and see them. We went to visit one of the converts of Hermana G and P and he told us he finished the Book of Mormon! He had been in Alma when they visited him the week before. He then went on to tell us that he had a 'little' extra time on Monday and REREAD THE WHOLE BOOK OF MORMON IN ONE DAY! My jaw literally dropped hahahah it was fabulous!!!! They are working on contacting and finding news, it is what everyone seems to be doing right now. lots and lots of contacting.

Doña M - honestly one of my favorite people in the world. She is hilarious and old but I LOVE HER!!!!! We taught her tithing, and she doesn't work, she gets government help because she's old, but she told us she wants to give money to help the church. And she gave 50 pesos on Sunday! Sweet sweet little lady! Her grandkids told her that they don't want her to go to church and she told them that she is going to because she likes it. She may be old and frail, but she is very strong willed!!!! We reviewed the baptismal interview questions with her and asked her if she had ever killed anyone and she told us 'ni puedo matar los pollitos'. hahahahahah. SHE IS SO SWEET!!!!! The mosquitos were biting me while we were talking with her and she told me not to scratch and I told her just a little and then we were going to start with the prayer. I was giving the prayer, and started scratching and someone slaps my hand during the prayer. I open one of my eyes and she was watching me with her teeny tiny eyes hahahaha. I almost cried another day too because she was telling me how much she is going to miss me and how all my kids are gonna have super curly hair and was giving me marriage advice :( She finally got baptized on Sunday :) and it was one of the best baptisms I have even been in. She was in the font for about 7 minutes with Elder D and the testigos and Presidente Greer and everyone telling her she needed to lean back but she just keeps leaning forward and shoving her head in the water and doing semi-squat things and trying to splash herself with the water. She also can't hear very well, and with everyone yelling, she just gets more confused and starts doing her own thing hahahaha I JUST LOVE HER SO MUCH!!!  Then she was baptized so she doesn't have sins anymore! It was great. She gave us huge kisses after, so I know she felt something special. Don't tell anyone, but she also gave the ZL who did her interview a litttle peck on the cheek hahah he turned super red too. Everyone loves Doña M :) Good good day :) :) :)

Love, Hermana Westergard

Hermana H and Q in consejo

hermanas in consejo

goodbye to Elder A and W :(

LAST PICTURE WITH HERMANA Q :(

 animo from the elders in my ward yay

                                     guanavana....interesting fruit

                                                      hahahha it says don't throw trash

                                                               beautiful Papantla

my name is still in the cement!

C, L and D a year later

Doña M

an enormous Hershey kiss from Hna Q :'(

Birthday decorations for Hna P!!

centro en la noche

 Doña M after her baptism :) :) :) it's all blury because she gave me a big kiss hahah I swear she is happy her face just doesn't show it

We had a baptism and also the Elders in our ward! They're the first baptisms that have happened in a while, so everyone was wicked happy :) They baptized a man named S. Presidente and Hermana Greer came to the baptism also! It was a day I will never forge

lots going on

My head literally has 6 billion thoughts jumbled up and I am not quite sure how to organize all of them, but hopefully you all can understand this email and make some sense of it.

I feel like my patience is wearing out really quickly these days, and I feel like I have no time left and I don't want to waste it! AAHHH!!!! I am trying to perfect everything all at once.

I can make my stomach expand an incredible amount when I am really full hahahah and I did it in front of M and now she goes on and on about me going to have kids one day and how they are going to have curly hair like me and she gives me a bunch of advice that I don't need right now as a missionary hahah but she does it because she loves me! I LOVE HER!!!! funny little old lady.

We did a service project with some of the ward on Saturday. We cleaned up a basketball court and cut the grass.....but in the most inefficient way ever. With machetes hacking away at the ground like maniacs. Never did I realize the brilliance of a lawn mower until Saturday.

My tooth broke again. YAY.

I did divisiones with Gutierrez Zamora, it is an area outside of Papantla and really close to the beach. It is so pretty there!!! I felt like I was in Florida or a little like I was at home again. IT was a weird feeling. I got to work with Hna M and it was cool to see how we have both grown in the mission. We now know how to be efficient and effective and do what we need to do! I love being able to see changes like that!

I feel like everyone here talks SO MUCH and then we show up late to all the appointments because everyone is just talktalktalktalktalktalktalktalktalktalktalktalk. GAH! I am trying to find this balance but so far we haven't found one. I think we are going to need to start cutting people off mid-sentence. It is the only solution.

M - still hilarious and cracks me up hahaha. We taught her the Word of Wisdom and she still isn't drinking coffee! We verify with her every day to help remind her, and she still isn't drinking! We had an amazing lesson about the Plan of Salvation and started with a hymn. We were singing and she starts croaking along with us. It was cute, but we almost died laughing hahahah but we managed to maintain control. She is getting ready for her baptism this Sunday! We are all so excited for her :) Oh, she really only is 85, not 300 years old.

Love, Hermana Westergard

divisiones with Zamora

my tooth

N

service project

Divisions

So this week was all about divisions. Stressful. AH! But more on that later.

Random things - I am grateful to eat with the elders because they can eat up my food when I can't. I finally ate Zacahuil!! I thought I was never going to eat it but the impossible can happen. Picture is included.

We have been contacting left and right! As a district, we put a goal to contact 100 people per week per companionship. We only got 48 this week, but that is a HUGE step for us. We have never contacted so many people before hahah and it is fun!!! We can do better, watch out Papantecos.

Divisions with Manantiales. I was with Hna V in their area. She is from Monterrey, and is SUPER cool. She is kind of gangster hahah like the way she talks with her hands but that's what makes her awesome. She is super diligent and has such a a sweet spirit and a powerful testimony and a desire to share the Gospel. The mission will be in good hands when I leave if more missionaries are like her.

Divisions with Tajin. I was with Hna P from Guatemala. She has 12 siblings and is another fantastic missionary, she's kind of timid but is hilarious and spunky once you get her talking. She is struggling a little because she has been with some crappy comps :( so she's not so excited to be here right now. Funny though, we literally waited for at least 35 minutes for a man to say the closing prayer in the lesson.....I am pretty sure we were waiting longer for the prayer than the time we were teaching. I have never prayed for so much love and patience in a lesson as that once. I felt like I was on the verge of throwing my scriptures but NOPE :) all was calm and well. Also, a dog bit Hna R in our area that day...poor girl.

I am grateful for the opportunity that I have to get to know these hermanas. I would never have had the chance otherwise!

Basically all the people we are teaching are about to kick in the bucket. However, we did find a 93 year old man who can still read and hear and you can almost understand everything he is saying because he still has a few teeth! 

J - 85 years old. She is about as strong as a piece of paper and has died 4 times. talking about the doctors who didn't help her in one of the experiences when she was dying 'condenado doctor flojo' or condemned lazy doctor. HAHAHAHAHAHAH Hna R and I almost lost it. She wants to be baptized but is afraid to leave her house if there is a cloud in the sky. She reminds me of that aunt from A Series of Unfortunate Events that is afraid of electricity and everything else.

M - is understanding little by little. Every time we go we need to tell her that she is not going to be baptized naked. After teaching the Plan of Salvation, we asked her who did we live with before and she says 'Diosito'. Good enough for me!! There are some questionable circumstances in her house...we are working on finding somewhere else to teach her

T - a HILARIOUS RM who goes around with us sometimes and is not afraid to say anything. LOVE HER hahaha literally she is one of the best people I have met in my mission

Love, Hermana Westergard

zacahuil 

a huge tamale that they make here

HAHAHAHAH this awful funeral place advertisement 

molotes

lol this cat is how i feel at the end of EVERY DAY 

17 meses.....

HELLO TODOSSSS!!!!!

Wow. Today my calendar reminded me that I've been in the mission for 17 months. Honestly, the fastest 17 months of my life. Let's not focus on that right now though, let's focus on the good things of Papantla.

Well, first the random things. It was 45° C (113 degrees F) this last week. I have included some sweating picture so you believe me how much I am sweating hahaha. My sweat rag is my amigo fiel. Someone broke into our house but didn't take anything...which is really weird. We got back at night and the door to get in was unlocked. We are the only ones in the building and I ALWAYS LOCK THE DOOR when we leave. We tried telling ourselves it was nothing but then halfway up to the 3rd floor where we live, Hna R and I looked at each other and both decided it was a bad idea to go up by ourselves. We ran back down and waited around in the street and then RM T walked by in that moment. WHAT A BLESSING. We explain to her the situation, and she says, 'I don't know why but this morning I felt like I should put this in my bag' and she takes out a flashlight which also has a taser with it.....AH. So we wait a little bit more and a young couple shows up, but at least there is 1 man hahah so we send him up to check out the apartment and then he beckons us up and we look all around and....... NO ONE was there. Thank goodness. But someone did get in, because the door was closed with a brick outside and we never leave the door like that. And there were pamphlets and pass-along cards thrown on the floor, but nothing was missing. Even my ipod that I left on the desk with the speaker was still there. We are thinking that they saw the pictures of Jesus all over the walls and rethought their intentions. Or maybe they realized we really didn't have anything of value hahaha. WHO KNOWS. But yes, that was an interesting experience.

My area is like a garden of in-active members. WE ARE WATERING AND NOURISHING ALL OF THEM. We need to find out what is the best way to help them, and what do they need. So much to do here!

THE BOOK OF MORMON IS SO IMPORTANT IN THE CONVERSION!!! I CANNOT STRESS THAT ENOUGH!!!! I love the Book of Mormon!!

Hna R is changing a lot, but for the better!!!! It is amazing and beautiful to see how she has been changing in these past couple of weeks. She is more confident, she talks with basically everyone, and she is even talking louder! She told me that I have helped her see what she loves in the mission, and that she re-found her spark and what she felt like she was missing. She told me she is excited to go out every day and look for the chosen people. YAY :) happy happy happy! We are getting along better too! Yay!!!!

Something funny that I have realized while reading the Book of Mormon is that Laman and Lemuel's solution for everything is kill the person who is bothering them. Our younger brother wants to rule over us? KILL HIM. Our father is old and we think he is a visionary man? KILL HIM. It was just something I thought was funny hahahahaha

Doña M - Loves calling me guerita. I don't think she actually knows my real name. She made these maza things with peas that looked like tamales and tells me 'come mas guerita' 'toma atole guerita', right after we had just ate. UG. SO hot, SO full, SO wanting to barf. But little old ladies don't take no for an answer. Also, ever since she found out I am going home in July she keeps telling me that I look tired and like I am thinking about going home. Not true hahah I am just resting after climbing up the mountain where she lives. Her grandson - M - is a member but isn't active and supports us a lot with teaching his grandma. M literally cracks me up hahaha she goes on and on and on about tamales and cookies, they are her favorite foods hahaha

Love, Hermana Westergard

Father's Day activity with the crazy relief society members hahahha

Tree of Life lesson with drawing

Hna R y yo

sudando mucho with a closeup