Borrego soup

HOLAAAA

So this week kind of seemed like a blur, the days seem to blend together. I am feeling pretty tired, the mission might be catching up with me! So Borrego is goat. And I ate a lovely soup this week with the borrego. When I say borrego, I mean the WHOLE borrego. People in Mexico use basically every part of the animals when they cook, organs and all. Yum yum! After I ate the soup, the investigator told me what was in it. It included the following: liver, pancreas, stomach, bladder, lungs. throat and lungs. AND I ATE IT. I am proud of the people in Mexico for being so frugal and utilizing all parts of the animals. I am also glad that I grew up in the United States!

Investigators: Claudia still is not married!!!!!! LSDKFJLSDKFJSLDGJHSDLKFJSDLKFJ. She is working a lot, her boyfriend works late and she works early. We need to find a time where they can both get to the building to get married. This is our project for this week. IT CAN BE DONE. IT WILL BE DONE. We are teaching one of Claudia's friends now too though! His name is Manuel, he works as a clown. He is kind of timid, but he is really interested and has come to activities at the church before! No one came to church this week either. A lot of investigators were out of town, Mexico was playing in the World Cup, sacrament meeting was noticeably more empty hahahaha. We had an AMAZING lesson with one of the youth in the ward and his friend. William - the youth - has such a strong testimony and his spirit was so powerful. I hope that my testimony has the same impact on people that his had on me! William is going to be an amazing missionary! We contacted a family this week: the dad cannot read, their son is really sick, their 15 year old just had a baby a month ago, and her husband works painting 20 story buildings. BUT THEY ARE ALL STILL SO HAPPY!!!! It is hard for me to see teenagers so young with children. I feel like they are still kids themselves, but they already have the responsibility of a family. We have not met the mom yet, but apparently she is very Catholic. We get the feeling that what she says in the family goes, so we are hoping to have an AMAZING lesson with her this week!! 

We visited a less active family this week, Carlos and Eufemia. On the outside, they look fine, but after we were talking to them, we realized that they had nothing, They shared the weight of the world they were feeling with us, and I felt like I was carrying 999,999 pounds when we left their house. She is really sick, there is not much work around for anyone, the situation is just really dire. It is hard for me when I think about the privileged life I have had, that I have never worried like they are, that I have never gone without, and this poor couple is struggling to make soup day to day. It is really hard when I realize how different my situation is than these people. It is very humbling.

Funny things: We contacted a woman names Rosa. We asked her who she lived with and she told us she was along, very very alone. Just herself, her soul, God and her Virgin. I guess she is not so alone after all! She was doing this weird thing with her hands, we could not tell if she was praising us, shooing us away or praying. Contacting another time, we encountered the references daughter and very drunk husband. He asked us if we wanted to read the Bible with him on his front porch was was going on and on about how he was very Catholic. We decided we should probably leave, so we were saying bye to the daughter and the husband butts in to say goodbye also. Shaking my hand, and very drunkenly he says "You are very pretty". I was not expecting it at all, turned SO red and stumbled out something incomprehensible in spanglish and walked away as fast as I could. Red hair, red face. UG

Good news: We have a new friend who owns a taqueria! He gives us free tacos al pastor! I LOVE TACOS AL PASTOR! Ive got friends in HIGH placessssss.

Interesting news: We had lunch with a member yesterday, her son served in the same mission as dad! Concepcion, Chile! AND he served with the husband of one of my roommates, Bre!!!!! JEFF MOSS IF YOU READ THIS do you know Fransisco Conteras? He remembers you!!!

I love you all! Thank you for your support!!!!

Love, Hermana Westergard

PACKAGE AND LETTERS :)

tacos al pastor with limon and salsaaaaa

5 Months come and gone

HOLAAAAA!

SO. Yesterday I celebrated 5 months in the mission. WHERE HAS TIME GONE. I felt like I was in the MTC yesterday! My life is flashing before my eyes!

Last pday we learned our lesson with the garbage. For some reason, we just never took the garbage out to the curb. The road where we live is being worked on, so it is like a war zone every time we leave and we try to carry as little as possible so we can keep our balance and not fall into the pits of destruction I mean construction. So we had a little growing pile of bags of garbage. This would be fine IF the national bug of Mexico was not the annoying fruit fly. We started to pick up the bags to take them out and there was an EXPLOSION of HUNDREDS of GROSS fruit flies. I hate them!!!!!! We also saw on the bags, after we launched them into the pile or garbage where people put their trash, little eggs of SOMEthing. GROSS GROSS GROSS. We both gagged and almost barfed. NEVER AGAIN will we collect the trash bags like that.

Other than the gross trash experience, this week felt like a re-energized and rejuvenating week! I kind of felt like I was slipping into a mission routine, doing the same things every day, going the same places...I felt like I had lost a spark of some sort. I had been praying to feel this spark, this energy and excitement again, and this week it came back! I was so excited! This week really was SO fantastic, I know our prayers are answered! No more slump! I am still wicked tired all the time, but somehow I keep on going! It reminds me a little bit of seminary. I do not know how I made it through, but I did it!

So our zone fasted last Sunday to be able to find more people. We had a lot of baptisms this transfer, but no one really had any plans for the next one. The power of fasting is real! We got 7 new investigators this week!!

Eduardo: THIS IS CLAUDIA'S BOYFRIEND. So we had a lesson with him this week....we really needed to talk to him about the whole marriage thing. We took the Elders from our ward with us too and........WE HAD AN AMAZING LESSON!!!! The Spirit was basically sitting next to him, and he agreed to get married this coming Friday! Claudia is going to be baptized that day, and he is going to be baptized Sunday! AAAHHHHHH!!!!!! We were so worried, so stressed, praying so much for this. AND HE IS TOTALLY DOWN WITH IT!!!!!!!!!!!! SOSOSOSO HAPPY!!!!!

Karla and family: Karla is 14, and she has 2 sisters and 1 brother. She was SO excited, SO animated, we were teaching her almost every day, I helped her with her English and math homework, she was teaching her family how to pray and was reading everything we assigned her from the Book of Mormon!!!! BUT, on Sunday when we went to walk to church with her, her aunt was there. I am guessing her aunt has some sort of power over the family, because she told us - very rudely - that Karla was Catholic and so was her family, and that she would not be going to church with us, and that we could leave. GAH. HORRIBLE WOMAN. We left, but we are going to try to talk to Karla a little bit more, we did not even really get to say goodbye or anything. If her aunt will not let her go to church now, at least Karla knows about it, and when she is older she can take a stance against her aunt. KARLA IS AMAZING THOUGH

Samuel: he is very blunt and matter-of-factish. Also semi OCDish, he is an interesting character. We found him by looking for his cousin who was never there, and then one day he answered the door. He told us that he believes we were placed in his path for a reason. We believe so too!!! We meet with him almost every day too, but every Sunday he texts us and tells us he cannot go for some reason or another.....hmmmmm....kind of fishy. He has a lot of input in the lessons and everything but cannot seem to make it to church. We will see where this goes

Josue: friend of Angel, an investigator who is not really progressing. He is super philosophical, is studying psychology and has so much to say about everything. More like questioning the universe, but is very interested still! He was drinking a cup of wine the whole first lesson and has a huge collection of wine and beer bottles on top of us TV. We left a Word of Wisdom pamphlet for him to read and for us to talk about next time hahahaah.

We got to do service this week for an old hermana (sister) in our ward. I hate weeding almost more than anything, but it was not that bad this time. I do not know why, but it was actually really satisfying to yank the weeks out. HAHA I win!!!!

I am in the process of creating my mission recipe book. It is going great so far, and I add new things when people are willing to give up there family cherished recipes. 

Speaking of cooking, we helped an investigator make a tres leches cake for her daughters birthday. We were actually helping her mom. We made the 3 leches part, and were working on cutting and preparing the cake to dump the heavenly goodness in the cake to soak. The grandma had been mixing the 3 leches part and told us to try it. We did, and it was so good!!!!!!! BUT THEN she says there was a secret ingredient she added, and she pulls out a bottle of brandy. WHAT! She said she just added a little for the taste.....I never thought I would try alcohol, let alone the first time being on my mission. We did not sample any more after that hahahaha.

The work is moving forward in Mexico!

Love, Hermana Westergard

old folletos!

goat looking cable tower

 the inviting signs we see

VIVA MEXICO

Hola!

So the World Cup started! Lots of green here in Mexico. The streets are deserted basically during the times that the games are on, so Mexico is semi-quiet for a change. Kind of strange actually.

We had a Noche de Hogar this week with some less active members. Noche de Hogar is Family Home Evening, we have a short message and then we play games and have a little treat or something after. These members were having a blast!!! I did not think that they would love the games, or even have fun, but it was like watching little kids at Disney World! These less active members went to the ward Noche de Hogar we had later on in the week AND they went to church on Sunday too!!! I really like Noches de Hogar, because they help people realize that we are normal too! We do not just go to church for 3 hours on Sunday, we also have activities with food. If food is involved, there is alway guaranteed to be an awesome turnout!

Something I realized this week was that as much as I am looking for people to teach and help baptize, the members also have a great need for us. I did not realize that the little girls in the ward look up to us so much! When we visit members, their families share everything they can with us. Kids drag out their artwork, everyone runs to get their Books of Mormon, they turn off the TV and are eyes and ears to everything we have to say. Seeing this makes me want to try even more to be the best I can be, to live up to the expectations of the members and of myself!

Investigators: Saul - he is a single dad with 2 kinds. I admire him a lot. Every time we teach him, he is SO interested and the Spirit is really strong. We finished all of the first lesson with him, and we watched a movie about Joseph Smith. The movie never gets old! Every time I watch is I get goosebumps and I KNOW that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God! Saul was really impressed by the movie too. When investigators see the trials and hardships that Joseph Smith and the early members of the church went though, I think they are taken aback. Especially because it is the United States. I am really grateful for powerful church movies! I feel like what I cannot get across in Spanish is filled in with the movie. Claudia!!!!!! I LOVE HER!!!! We met with her this week and she was bawling. She said her husband does not want to get married, because he feels really pressured and he said the only reason she wants to get baptized is to get him to marry her. NOT TRUE!!!!!! I can see them in the temple! He went to church yesterday though and got to see a baptism too, and I think he really liked them both! We are visiting them tonight, so FINGERS CROSSED!!!

I went on divisions this week with my Sister Training Leader, Hermana P. We had interviews with presidente before, and we were all sitting around waiting. As I was sitting and listening, I realized she was talking to an elder in ENGLISH!!! She grew up right on the boarder of Mexico and Texas, so she is fluent in both! It was a weird day hahahaha we spoke english and spanish but my brain kept switching to spanish! I guess that is a good thing! We ate lunch at a Chinese buffet. XALAPA IS SO DIFFERENT THAN PAPANTLA! I did not try the sushi though hahaha I do not trust sushi in Mexico.

A humbling experience for me this week was when we were talking with a recent convert, Jorge. He is still having trouble not drinking coffee, se we made a deal with him. Hna M and I love the dulce pan (sweet bread) of Mexico, we are always buying it. WE LOVE IT! But, we said we would give up the pan if he gave up the coffee. And if one of us caves, we need to buy the others tacos. When people are investigating the church, they are changing their lives! It is hard for us not to eat the bread that we love, I cannot imagine what it must be like for other things. So far, we are all staying strong and no tacos have been bought.

I am trying to work on just loving people. Love love love. I know that love is the most important thing in this work! If I have love, my testimony will grow and others will feel that I am being genuine and sincere. LOVE IS KEY. Working on it!

Funny things: While contacting, Hna M asked people if they wanted to learn more about Jesus Christ. Response: NO. Okay!! Have a nice day! Another thing, I was commenting to Hna M about this old lady in the house where we ate lunch. She could not understand me. So I asked my companion, Why couldn't she understand me? My comp was expecting me to say something after about my accent or something or other, but I said, Well I could't understand her either....because I couldn't! Well my comp wasn't expecting that and spewed the water she had been drinking all over me hahahahaha. I was soaked!

ALSO. I love my companion!! We get along really well, she is super cool and we have so much fun together!! She speaks really fast though, I usually have to ask her to repeat almost everything she says.

I love you all!!!! Thank you for your support! I am sorry I cannot respond to everyone, but I try to get back to everyone eventually!! ALSO I got more letters this week! One from the US (thank you Marissa!!!!), one from Italy and one from Tawain

Love, Hermana Westergard

my lovely tan and wall decorations

members: if you look closely you can see that his hat is from the New Engand Aquarium!!!

Feliz Dia de los Padres! (Happy Father's Day!)

Rejectionnnnnnn, disgraceeeeee

Hola!!!

SO. Title for this week is because contacting was a total bust. And I kept thinking of the song from Lion King 2 when they are singing about Kovu? I don’t know how to spell his name. But contacting was really rough this week. Lots of Catholics who do not want anything. We knocked on one door, the old woman answered, asked us if we adored the Virgin, and we said no haha because we do not. She just looks at us and says Pues, Adelante, which basically means “go away. Gracias!!”

I have been seeing SO MUCH Massachusetts gear EVERYWHERE. Red Sox, Cape Cod, Patriots, Notre Dame, it is like MA is haunting me. I see Mexicans wearing the stuff and just think YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT MEANS TO ME!!!

Blessings this week!! Raquel, our investigator, just had her baby so she has not been drinking alcohol! Apparently she really realllyyyyyyy liked alcohol before she got pregnant, so it is a blessing that she has her baby! Now we just have to help her get married! She committed to live the word of wisdom! Now the law of chastity. One step at a time! We were really nervous for a lesson with Claudia and her husband this week too. They are not married either, and Claudia needs to be married to be baptized. We were not sure how her husband was going to feel about all of this, but Hermana M and I were praying the whole day for the lesson to go well. IT WENT PERFECTLY!!! He wants to be baptized with Claudia! We left their apartment and just looked at each other and started laughing hahahah we could not believe it had gone so well!! Miracles happen every day! We also watched the Restoration movie with Claudia, and she loved it. CLAUDIA IS JUST PERFECT! I get so excited every time we go to teach her because I know it is going to be an amazing lesson with lots of love and Spirit. Our old mission President visited my ward on Sunday! We do not know why, but it was a relief to see him. We all miss Presidente Lopez.

We have another investigator, Juan, who wants to be baptized in a river. He keeps going on and on about the energy and power of the water. He is kind of a hippie, but he has good questions and is really interested too. I do not know if we can help his dream come true, but we will see what we can do. 

I had Dominos pizza this week!!!!!  That was a deja vu American experience. LOVE PIZZA!

I had a coconut and pineapple tamale this week. DELICIOUS. I am working on gathering the recipes of the foods I like. I plan to open a restaurant in Provo, and I think I will be very successful with the business of all the RMs who served in Mexico and miss their tortillas and tacos and tamales and chile.

This week there was TONS and TONS of rain too. It is hurricane season, and we get the rains and hail. I am so grateful for my rain-boots and umbrella and raincoat! Sososososo grateful. I usually stay mostly dry, except when taxi drivers purposefully swerve out of their way to hit the puddle just right so we get sprayed with water. I try to have good feelings and be missionary like, but when we are dripping with gross street water, we get a little mad for like 2 seconds and then start cracking up hahahaha. A mission is fun! I would never have these experiences anywhere else!

I got a ton of letters and packages this week!!!! THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR THE LOVE!!! It was honestly better than Christmas!! Christie, Nana Carol, Kelly, Jenn, Mom and Dad, Matthew, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! YOU MADE MY WEEK!!!!!! The package that my family sent me in early March finally got here! There is a big stamp on it that says Missent To Jamaica. I do not know how that happens, but it is a miracle that it made it here!

I love you all!!!! Thank you for your love and prayers!

Love, Hermana Westergard

hehehe peeking through the windows one day, we saw that one of our investigadors had this on their table!!!

FINALLY GOT A PACKAGE that was missent to Jamaica

LETTERS!!!!!! :):):) 

ditto

in the family of avacado but different

HAPPY 22nd BIRTHDAY RUTH!!!!!!

 on my roof this morning!!

(Two pictures I missed last week.)

Xalapa is BEAUTIFUL

Doing what Minions do (Mexicans are obsessed with minions and Zumba)

When it rains, it pours

Hola!!!!

SO XALAPA IS SO AMAZING!!!!!! The weather is PERFECT EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!! I am no longer sweating 24/7 and my sweat is no longer dripping into my food. Such a weird experience. I almost forgot what it was like not to sweat! But it is also starting to be hurricane season or something? Or there is a hurricane in the Atlantic? So, we have MASSIVE, torrential downpours every single day. Once the drizzle starts, you have about 30 seconds to book it to the nearest members house, find some sort of shelter, or accept that you are going to get drenched to the core. BUT I LOVE it. The weather is literally sososososososo perfect, I cannot get over it. This week was amazing too. So many miracles. I really feel like I am in a dream.

First off, so much amazing food this week. Everyone says that people get fat in Xalapa, I can see why. The members casually give us flan and hot chocolate and cookies. WHERE AM I? England? That is what it feels like! So weird. Also had watermelon with chile and limon (lime) and salt. Actually wicked good. Churros...need I say more? Capeados, which is basically fried bananas with lechera aka sweetened and condensed milk and cream. We had carrot tacos. I like the health conscious idea, but the fried aspect kind of cancels out the goodness that the carrots had Oh, and an Hermana in the ward makes pan, the bread that they sell at all the little shops. And she gave us a HUGE bag full of all the different kinds after comida (lunch) one day. I wish I did not have the love for food that I do.

We have SO MANY great investigators! There spirits are SO strong. It is amazing. So so amazing! One investigator's name is Caludia. She has 2 children, and loves church. We need to help her get married, but she comes to all the activities we have, her daughter asks us when the next time we can go to church is. We watched the Restoration video with her, she wants to get married and is really interested in temples AAAHHHHH :). Another investigator is Raquel. Her whole family is members, except her. She is 16, just had a baby, we need to help her get married too. But even with her newborn, she comes to church and has lots of good questions. AAAHHHH :). Another investigator, Mario, I cannot tell if he wants to actually learn or if he just wants to have intellectual battles with scriptures. Trying to break down his walls. Another investigator, Cynthia, was a reference from Claudia. Her son has special needs, but she has a lot of hope also. When we were talking with her, I felt prompted to share with her how I felt about my sweet cousin Elizabeth. I was crying, she started tearing up too, it was really special.

OK: now for the day of miracles. Sunday was a day of miracles. Sunday was also fast Sunday, Hermana M and I were fasting that we could find more people to teach. Sunday we found, taught, and set baptismal dates with 10 people!!!!!!!!! THAT NEVER HAPPENS!!! We also did a TON of contacting on Sunday. Contacting references is so important. Out of the 19 contacts we made, 2 of them accepted the invitation for us to return and teach them later. The percentage is small, but the work is worth it! So the 10 people we found are in 2 families. Families are so important to this work, and the fact that they all - with their families - want to be taught and baptized is amazing!!!! This work is a work of miracles, I am reminded every day.

Sunday we also had pansita for lunch. From the sounds of it, it sounds like it would be something to do with pan, or bread. WRONG. It is a soup made from, if I understand everything correctly, SHEEP BLADDER. I tried. I really really really did. I managed like 2 pieces, but i could not eat the rest of the soup. It looks like the skin of something with little hairs or taste buds or I do not know what. I was trying to distinguish what it was the whole time I was trying to eat it. I felt so bad. Then the Hermanas family got back from church and it turns out none of her kids like it either, so I did not feel so bad. Apparently, it is the husbands FAVORITE thing in the world. I do not know how...but he can have mine!

Something interesting about people here....I always ask how to spell things, like peoples names. No one ever actually tells me the letters, they just say the word realllllyyyyyyyyyyslowly. Thank you for the help!

I love you all!!!! I love my mission!!!!! This church is true, I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and I know our families can be together forever.

Love, Hermana Westergard

nice big dead rat

 new agenda made by Hermana D as a goodbye present

It pours so much the streets turn into rivers

Costco

One year older and wiser too

Hola todos!

So guess what! I am now in Xalapa! My birthday present from Presidente Saucedo hahaha everyone craves to be in Xalapa, and here I am! We found out cambias last night, and I got on a bus this morning at 9 and am currently in my new area! My new companion is Hermana M, she is from Honduras! I do not know her super well, we have only been together for like 2 hours, but so far she seems really nice and wants to help me with Spanish! 

This week was a jumble of everything. With cambias looming over our heads, everyone was kind of worrying about the changes. But we did a lot of contacting this week, and even if those references were not successful, I have SUCH A STRONG testimony of contacting! If the reference does not lead directly to someone who wants to hear the message, I know that somehow, some connection will lead to SOMEONE who wants to be baptized! It is just about following the connect the dots puzzle. Funny experience, someone gave us our landlord as a reference, but we did not know until after we were talking with his wife and then he showed up at his house. hahahah AWKWARD. He has some problems, and the Elders had talked with him before. We had a nice awkward conversation and then speedily walked away. It is all good though!

We had a Noche de Hogar (Family Home Evening) this week, and I showed them how to make cookies, American style. Yes they did love them. I did too. I tried this wicked good fruit this week, called lychi? I do not know how to spell it, but it is my new favorite!

I am really starting to feel like my work here is less active members in the church. I keep running into and finding less actives, and it is not like I have plans to visit or find them, they just somehow become a part of my path during the day. If that is my work here, rather then baptisms, that is ok with me! I just want to help with this great work!

Our 2 miracle girls could not be baptized this week :(. It seems like right when I get my hopes up for a baptism, Satan smacks me down again. Felipe is still attending church! But in a drunken state. Poor guy. I know he wants to change so bad! He just has this awful addiction. I spoke at a baptism for the Elders. My spanish was not great, and it was very last minute, but I hope he felt the Spirit behind my words!

We started English and Piano classes this week! The attendance was small, but I would rather have fewer people so I can focus with them more!

Sunday was such a scramble for me. We have this great new investigator, Silvia. She goes to all the activities, and goes to church too!! We are really excited and blessed to be teaching her. AND THERE WAS A SURPRISE PARTY for me on Sunday!!!! The members of this ward are the best! There was a Jessie piñata from Toy Story, my look alike, there were endless tacos and cake. The tradition here is that when someone blows out the candles, their head is then shoved into the cake. YES. My head was shoved into the cake. But it just meant I got to try it before everyone else! hehehehe. I love tacos. Love Mexico. SO SAD TO LEAVE MY WARD :(. We found out the changes that night, so I did not get to say bye to anyone. Sad sad. But also happy day.

I love you all! Thank you for the birthday emails!

Hermana Westergard

Pieces of home

 watermelon study snack

 spider and cockroach of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

 BEST FRUIT IN THE WORLD - lychi?

Goodbye to Hermana E :(

one of my favorite families!!!,

Elder L and I with our piñatas

 after the molida

Time be flyin'

¡Hola!

Time really is flying. I cannot believe it is almost the end of May! AND YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!!!! CAMBIAS (changes) ARE IN A WEEK. AND...my birthday..... I am going to be 20. I feel wicked old. I am becoming wise beyond my years here on Mexico, if you need some advice on how to lessen the spiciness of chile, or need to know how to flush a toilet when there is no plumbing, or need to know how to best fend off 4 snarling dogs, I got your answers! Just let me know!

This week feels like a blur. Honestly, this past month feels like a blur. Everything just blends together! The weather is hot, we eat lots of rice and chicken, we speak spanish, we share the gospel, that is what we do! My week could basically just all be one day!

For the 6th month in a row, Mexico Xalapa mission is the best in Mexico!!! Wohooo!!!!

We had the big meeting that we were all dreading with the new mission president! THERE WERE NO MAJOR RULE CHANGES!!!!! I can still write friends!!!! YAY!!!!! That was a huge blessing!!!!! One new rule, we - the hermanas (sisters) - need to wear tights when we have conferences or big meetings. We need to be more feminine I think. I admit it is hard to tell sometimes when we are all sweating as much as the elders, and we just look like a large pool of sweat. Now we have tights to distinguish us!

We had AMAZING rain this week. It was literally a torrential downpour. I was well equipped with my boots and raincoat and umbrella! My companion on the other hand was not a happy camper. She left boots and umbrella in her previous area, thus she was soaked in a matter of minutes. We had to change a lot of our plans for the day too because it was literally impossible to walk up some of the hills where we had plans to visit. We would just slip and fall! But it is times like this that made for the memories, I love the rain!! I love the smell, the sounds, the colder air, I love it all! It was a beautiful day.

Our investigators were in their houses more this week! It is always disappointing when we get to the top of the hill where they live, and there is a response of silence to my BUENAS TARDES (good afternoon). We have been praying for this a lot too. We need them to be in their houses to teach them, help them with their trials, and just talk in general! Our current investigators are Felipe, Maria, Marian, Leonel, Rey and Mari, Miguel Angel, Juliocesar, Wanda and Maurliciol. We pray every day that we can find them! We make appointments, but people here do not really remember things like that. Everything just seems to be a matter or chance. Felipe and Leonel both came to church this week! Felipe wasssssss not baptized. Turns out he has still been drinking this whole time, and he thought that his baptism was going to help him quit drinking. We postponed his baptism for 2 more weeks, if he does not drink these 2 weeks. The elders visited him with us, and were able to give him a blessing. I have such a strong testimony about the priesthood and blessings, I know that he can do this! Leonel is 16, and his mom was baptized but is less-active. I am always so impressed - especially when younger people - are interested in the church and seek it out on their own accord. I think of how much stronger they are than I was at their age. They are an inspiration to me! We also seem to attract drunk people. We have had at least 2 or 3 very drunk men approach us this week, confessing their sins and pleading with us to help them change. We do our best to console them, give them a pamphlet and explain that we would like to teach them more about what we know, but it has to be a different day. We are following up with some of them next week! Hopefully the Word of Wisdom pamphlets will do some good for them!

We found 2 miracles this week too!!!!!!! Two girls, Marifer and Dana. Their mom was baptized when she was 8, but is not active. Her daughters want to be baptized! They go to church every week with their aunt, and we were eating comida (food) with her on Saturday, and were just talking about life when these two girls came in and told us all this stuff! HOPEFULLY, if all goes according to plan, they will be baptized this Saturday! Miracles do happen!!!!

We helped an Hermana (sister) in our ward make these foam roses for her Gospel Principles class, and they were a huge hit! People in Mexico love when people make crafty stuff, and these roses were pretty legit.

I gave a talk in church on Sunday! I was stressing out so much, Hermana D made me practice like 3 times hahahah she said we had to get my pronunciation right. I have been working on it a lot lately, and Hermana D is super excited with my improvement! I am too!!!!! So I gave my talk, about the Obra Misional or Missionary work. How hard could it be right? It is what I am doing! Regardless of how easy it should have been, I turned red, stuttered a decent amount and used a lot of hand gestures to make my points. BUT, people liked it! OR they just felt sorry for me. Either way, I consider it a success. An hermana told me she really liked it, and one of the missionaries told me his investigator told him that she loved my talk, and wanted to invite me to eat with her one day. Someone else's investigator liked my talk!!!!! THAT IS HUGE!!! It is not just pity! I was, still am, very excited.

Everyone is making plans for my birthday too hahaha I think like 3 hermanas in the ward have said they are going to buy postre (baked goods) and everyone wants to know what I want to eat and do. If I am not alive next monday, it is because I am in a food coma. ALSO, there is a family in this ward that TOTALLY reminds me of me, Ruth and Jess. These 3 crazy sisters are always together - Hilda, Adriana and Rosario - and they are always joking and just feed off of each other's laughs and smiles and crazy conversation. I honestly feel very lost when we are with them because I cannot keep up with the conversation, but I know they are having a good time. Miss my amazing sisters!!

I love you all so much, and I know this church is true! I love the people of Papantla, and I am so grateful for my opportunity to be here in this country.

Hermana Westergard

Fish eye in muh soup

most legit way to eat fish

showing Mexicans how to make brownies

Encroaching in the making of comida (food)