Monday, March 24, 2014
Week of Miracles
HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Let
me just testify that the Lord lives and He loves His children and knows exactly
what they need and how to help them! I
had the craziest and some of the greatest experiences this week. I am so grateful that the Lord is always
looking out for this crazy sister.
So
last week I think I mentioned that one family in our ward had a really old aunt
who was really old, and her spirit reminded me a lot of Great Grandma, well on Thursday she passed away... Yes, you heard that right, Thursday. Her body gave out just like our sweet and
perfect Grandma. Somehow I knew it was a sign that Grandma had left too. I knew how weak Grandma was and how much she just – in her words - ¨She just wanted
to die" ;) hahaha but what an example she was to us in our
lives! I also had the opportunity to
sing at her funeral and her viewing and it was something unlike any other. The spirit was so strong and gave me strength
unlike my own. I knew that for me this
was Grandma’s funeral, and I really
don`t know why it worked out the way it did - that they both passed away on the
same day, but I know the Lord is looking out for me and knows exactly what I
need! He knew how much it meant to me to
sing at her funeral and in a way - I did do just that! Never forget that the Lord has a plan for each
and every one of his children and He is ALWAYS there :)
The
truth is this week was one full of many miracles just like the funeral! I wish I could explain all of them, but words
just don`t even start to explain them! We had the activity for baptisms for the dead
in our ward this week, so we got to go to Colonial Juarez! AND of course it was an incredible experience
to be in the temple! It is the best place
in all of the EARTH! The spirit there is
overpowering; there is no way one could feel sad in the temple - I don`t think!
The Lord is there and he has so many
blessing that He wants to give us! If I
could explain the temple in one word it is POWER! We receive so much strength in the temple it
is unbelievable :) Judith (if you remember got baptised in December) went for her
first time, and had an incredible experience of doing family names :) The plan
of God is perfect and we can see his love for all of his children and all of
the opportunities he has for us :)
Also
we had another experience BEYOND amazing this week! There is a Hermana in our ward who is menos
activo and who has been sick for over a year. She has a disease in her bones that doesn`t
allow her to walk and gives her a lot of pain. For this reason she hasn`t been able to come
to church, but we went to invite her anyway! She lives with the grandsons and she wants
them to start going to church and learning, but she hasn`t been able to take them.
But we invited her none the less and I
felt impressed to promise her that if she had faith and a real desire to come
to the church with us, the Lord would help her to feel strong enough to go,
because that is where He wants her. She
thought we were crazy but told us that she would see what happens.... When we passed by her house to pick up her
grandsons before church she was waiting by the door in her wheel chair with the
most beautiful smile ready to go to church :) I honestly have never seen anyone look that
great to go to church in my life! She
was shining! And The Lord provided her
exactly what she needed! She told us
that she hadn`t felt this good in years and now she knows more than ever before
that the Lord lives. I wish I could
explain her smile and countenance at church and with the members and everyone! SHE WAS SHINING WITH THE LIGHT OF CHRIST!
Miracles
happen folks! God is a God of miracles
:)
I
love you with all of my heart and soul and you better believe that I pray for
you always :) Never forget the power and
love of our Father in Heaven! He wants
us to be happy just like He is and receive everything that He has :)
ADIOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hermana
Sutton
Monday, March 17, 2014
I Ate a Whole Fish!!!
Hello
from Mexico!!!!!! I hope you had a birthday party for me
yesterday; I turned 5 MONTHS OLD!!!! (in la mision) Wow am I ancient! haha I
really can`t believe that I have been in the mission for 5 months; it has gone
by like a dream! (a dream with lots of walking ;) hahaha but I am truly happy! So if
you were doubting that ever... make sure you know that I am happy and fed and
have a place to sleep at night, and most of all have the AMAZING gospel in my
life! The mission really has changed me
so much - I am a completely different person than I was 5 months ago... WOW and thank goodness! The
truth is, the mission helps one to always improve and allow the Lord to
mold you into what He needs of you! You learn here in the mission that you really
don`t matter (hahahaha - harsh!!!) But we really are just instruments in the Lord’s
hands and if we let Him, he will guide us and help us in ALL things! D & C 90 :24 is awesome!! READ
IT! It is a promise that if we do all the things
the Lord asks and keep Him in our thoughts always... EVERYTHING will work
together for our good. What a promise!!!
Anyways,
needless to say this week was soooo fast but really great and I am learning and
growing like a mad woman! (or missionary)
Hermana Soto is awesome!! She is
so not like me but thank goodness that she isn`t (can you imagine 2 crazy hermanas
like me???) Wow - no way! I think
the world would fall apart... ;) But she
is awesome and really is a great missionary and Hermana! We have
a lot of fun no worries, but we work our skirts off (not literally thank
goodness) but we make a good companionship! She is a little athletic! We have
been going running in the morning!! AND
I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I never thought I would enjoy running,
but the day has come and it is one of my favorite times of the day!
Sadly not very much... once in a while I will juggle for a few minutes
with the little boys that are sometimes in the streets. But to be honest, it isn`t that huge here :( People
like watching soccer but not very many are out and about playing..... I MISS
IT!! But today we have an activity with
our zone to play soccer or basketball; needless to say, I am SOOOOO excited
:):):):):):):):):):)
Hahahaha - Sadly there isn`t very
much here in Nuevo Casas Grandes to see.... Just
desert and desert and desert! There are
some ruins, I think, semi close but to be honest I doubt we will be able to
go...! But we make our own fun here on P-days like
searching for crazy new candy in the dulcerias or playing soccer before the
reunion de districto!
I had a really cool experience this week! So
background... there is a family in our ward we are really close to and they
have an aunt that is really really old and really really sick and weak - a
little bit like our sweet great grandma!
Anyways they asked us to go and visit the
family and her because they aren`t members and need a little bit of light in
their lives right now... So we went and
it was such a great experience! I was
able to talk to her like she was my best friend! (This was something that I think would have
been weird for most people - I know it was a little for Hermana Soto.) While
she was in her bed and couldn`t move and really weak and skinny, I could see in
her eyes who she really was and it was so special to see her smile and know
that she is a daughter of God and her spirit is strong even if her body is
weak. I know that I had to work in the
nursing homes before my mission for a reason! There is something special about that age! They
have so much experience; it was great to share with her and learn also!
I hope that made sense... I really can`t explain how I felt! I just know that everything that happened
before in my life happened for a reason and i know the Lord gave me opportunities
so that I could be a more effective missionary now!
I know this church is true! It is
INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!! Never forget to do
the little things and remember the Savior in everything! He is why we are here, and He is why we can
return to our Father one day :)
I love you so much!!! THANK YOU
FOR BEING THE BEST FAMILY & FRIENDS IN THE WHOLE
WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hermana Sutton!
P.S. I ATE A
WHOLE FISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Like
fried, with the eye balls and bones and EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was awesome and really good :) I just hope it was clean!!!! ;) Of course it had chile on it….. EVERYTHING HERE HAS CHILE! and not like the fake stuff like the really
really really really hot stuff!!!!! And I
eat it all and LOVE it :) I have to have
my chile for everything :) I am a
MEXICAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (at heart at least)
Monday, March 10, 2014
HE Knows His Children!
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I LOVED ALL THE PICTURES of Emily &
Juan’s wedding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MUCHAS
GRACIAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow make sure Emily knows how amazing she
looked and how happy I am for them. They
are honestly such a cute couple and I am glad I got to meet Juan a little bit before I left! FELICIDADES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What an exciting week for our familia, and I
am glad to hear that everyone is alive still and happy! Just make sure that everyone knows that when I
get back we are going to have another party to celebrate, okay?? You can´t get enough of the parties, right??? hahahahaha
WE GOT A NEW
BISHOPBRIC???? :( What a huge change for
our ward! But how exciting that there
are changes and the Lord is a part of them all! Make sure you are patient with Bishop Halling because without a doubt,
things are going to be different. But I
am so excited for him, oh and the ward!! CRAZY CHANGES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AND... yeah how
crazy that my comp`s boyfriend and Derek
were companions!!! HOW IS HE LIKE??? I want to hear the good stuff! hahaha It
really is a small world!!
Okay my week was AWESOME!!!!!!!!! We have a brand new house, which is honestly
really nice and we have loved making it our own! We live right next to our old house so it isn`t
any difference in walking but so much difference in the look! I didn`t take any pictures but just imagine,
and maybe next week I can send some for you! My companion is hilarious; she has a crazy
mind on her head but I love her so much! You really get to know someone when you are
with them 24/7 but you also learn a lot about yourself also! When you think about the mission (worldly) it
really is something strange. You leave
everything you loved and go to a different country and live with a stranger and
eat crazy food and walk ALL day long
to teach people that usually don`t want to listen to you... AND YOU GROW!!! AND YOU BECOME BETTER!!!!! AND YOU FIND OUT WHAT REALLY IS IMPORTANT IN
LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW AMAZING IS THIS
OPPORTUNITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We had a really
great experience this week, actually yesterday! Because our church is at 12:30 we leave right
from church to go eat with the members. But
we forgot to plan time to help cook the food with the members and we had
another lesson right after. None the
less we were late to the other lesson and running like crazy to get there and
teach a little bit of something and put another cita. After that lesson we had yet another which was
all the way across town, so off we went running once again to find out that
they weren`t in their house.... Of
course right?? hahaha A little disappointed we thought, okay - fine
we can go and contact a reference that lives close to them so off we went.
We knocked on the
door of the apartment building and someone yelled out “Quien es??” and we yelled.... “Las misioneras!!!!” hahahahaha Then there was a short pause and then yelling
really really excited “HAY VOY HAY VOY
HAY VOY!!!!!!!!!” (meaning they are
coming!) And wow, we had such a
surprise! There lives 3 hermanas who all
are so excited to learn and change their lives. They had talked to the missionaries before
when they lived in another city, but they were searching for something that
could help them! I wish I could explain
how excited they are!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It
was such a blessing!!! But the amazing
thing was they were headed off to work so we only had 10 minutes to visit with
them and put another cita! Perfect or
what????
From this
experience I learned that our timing is not perfect! If everything hadn`t happened the way it did,
we wouldn’t have found them there! TRUST
IN THE LORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HE
KNOWS HIS CHILDREN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This work is
amazing and definitely lead by the One who knows it all! I know this is the true church of our savior
Jesus Christ!
I love you with
all my heart and soul!!!!!!!
Your Hermana Sutton! (the favorite daughter)
Monday, March 3, 2014
We Move Tomorrow ;)
Hola
Familia!!!!!
If
you can believe it, we had an even better week than the last one! I feel so great to be here in the mission and
so great to be serving the lord 24/7; it is one blessing I will never forget in
all of my life. It is true when people
say the mission will shape the rest of your life, and I know that is true! I am a completely differente person now than I
was a few months ago. I now understand a
little bit more why we are here on the earth and what it means to be a child of
GOD! It is incredible and wow... yeah,
just wow!
Sounds
like it was a busy week for everyone back home! Lots of things are happening and changing and
it is so fun to hear about it! I hope
everything works out with Emily’s
wedding and all the decorating and the fun food! (Just send some my way) hahaha I
got her invitation to the wedding and the luncheon and everything, but sadly I
think I might be a little late for this one. Make sure she knows I am sorry! But I can´t imagine she is tooo sad; she is
probably MADLY in love - the world is spinning around her ;) hahaha FELICIDADES para toda! And next week you had better send me some
pictures of EVERYTHING! Food, her, the
church, the cake, EVERYTHING!
…1… How have the discussions been with your new family from
last week?
YES! We had another lesson with
the Carballo´s and it was just as
incredible as the last one! They are the
sweetest family ever. (side note... they
always have a little snack for us too) The
last time we were there the dad said to us... I hope you feel comfortable in
our house; if there is anything we can do to help you feel more at home in Mexico,
let us know. THEY ARE GREAT!!! They really want to learn and to know that
this is true, and we are here to help them as much as we can! But really the goal as missionaries is not to
convince anyone that this is true, just to be guides to show them how THEY can
find out for themselves and gain a relationship with the Lord :)
…2… Have they finished the “remodel” of your apartment yet or
are you still in search of a place to live?
WE MOVE
TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are
so excited and everything is ready!!! La
verdad, our other house was well..... It
is good we are moving!! All part of the
experience right???
…3… How’s your weather? Is it starting to warm up a
little?
Today is freezing, but this week the weather was pretty warm! The warm weather is coming soon I can feel it,
and then I will be wishing for the cold!
…4… What really made you smile this week?
To be honest, something that made me smile was, Grandma Carlene sent me a package with a whole bunch of pictures
from when I was like 4 and 5 and I was so fat and look so crazy! My companion thought it was hilarious! We had a lot of good laughs with these
pictures ;) But yes, I got all my mail
from the past 2 months - I think!!!! It
was like Christmas again!!! Wow -THANK
YOU TIMES A MILLION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Let
me just take a minute to be preachy okay???? READ THE SCRIPTURES!!!!!!!!! If you have a question about anything....
READ! Honestly they are such a blessing
that we have in the life! The Lord
doesn´t leave us alone! He has provided
so much help in this life that we might know what path to take & the things
that we need to do and how! READ THEM
EVERYDAY - IT IS NECESSARY!!!!!!!!!!!! There
is power in the word of God, there is guidance and there is peace!!!! :) My testimony of the scriptures here in the
mission has changed so much, they are incredible! And they have the power to touch even the
hardest of hearts!
I
know this church is true! And I know
true happiness comes from living the gospel!!!
Thanks
for everything and I am always praying for you!!!!!!!!!!!
Hermana
Sutton
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