Another week in the life

Hola hola a todos! Feliz navidad! What’s is up!?

So we received changes this week along with the news that Elder Duran and I are going to be staying here in Hidalgo for at least 6 more weeks! I don’t know if I have said this but we live in a house and there is a queen bed which I laid claim to on the first day! So honestly, when I heard that I am going to be staying in Hidalgo for 6 more weeks, I thought, “Yes, 6 more weeks of sleeping in a comfortable bed.” I say this because I’m sure this is the only queen sized bed in the mission. So what I'm trying to say is my bed has been a game changer for me haha!! But also I am excited to stay here because we have been having a lot of success these past few weeks and I am excited to continue to work hard and help the people here in Poza Rica.

The beginning of this week really was not a normal one. Monday we didn’t have anything to do because we didn’t have an activity with the other missionaries so we just hung out! Tuesday we had changes! In my district, we were receiving 2 new missionaries who would be serving in an area called Cinco de Mayo, so it was my responsibility to find them a ride from the mission home to Cinco de Mayo. So most of the day Tuesday we were looking for a ride and we finally, a brother of a sister in the ward, who’s brother in law had a van (did you catch the connection? haha)! The bus with the new missionaries was scheduled to arrive around 2, which is when the missionaries arrived at the bus station. However, the van didn’t end up arriving until about 3:30. The new missionaries were a little worried, but in the end, it was all good! It was actually super cool, so one member named Moroni and 2 of his daughters came with us to help out with the new missionaries and I was able to get to know them more! So Moroni has 4 kids, has been a member all his life, and all of his kids live in Provo, but are now in Poza Rica visiting for the holidays. His oldest son is a manager at the Mexican restaurant in Provo called Don Juaquin (or at least I think that’s how you spell it) which supposedly is a famous restaurant in Provo so now I can say that “I know a guy, I can get us a deal” next time I have Mexican food in Provo. Another one of his daughters is studying at BYU and another one is finishing high school at Timpview! I don’t know why, but it was so cool just to talk to them about things in the states in Spanish haha!

But yeah so we received the new missionaries but it turned out that several other missionaries needed rides, so we gave about 10 missionaries rides to their areas. That meant driving a lot, help them loading and unloading all of their bags, and then on to the next area to do the same. It actually took quite a while, but it was a good opportunity to meet so many new missionaries and spend some time with Moroni. We ended up arriving back in Poza Rica at around 6, ate fast, then just worked super hard for the next while. We didn’t get back to the house till about 10:30 (which is the time that missionaries should be sleeping) because we just had stuff to do and I didn’t want to waste a day not fulfilling or necessary duties. We also conquered the “Anauwaq trip”, not going to say more about that:)

Wednesday we had our zone class and it was super super good! I was able to teach 2 districts this week because the other district leader was sick, and the class was very enjoyable! After class, the feeling in the room was full of excitement and everyone seemed super excited about working hard and serving those who need our help. We then had one of my favorites, shrimp, for lunch. It was the first time in I don't know how long that I have had shrimp and it tasted so gooood!

Thursday and Friday were just normal days. We worked hard and came home exhausted both days. On Sunday we had 10 people at church! We also had a ton of inactive members showed up, so i guess we are making some progress here in Poza Rica!

Honestly, this week has been a challenging one mentally for me. Missions are hard!! They definitely aren't the most fun or glamorous 2 years of a person's life, and can honestly bring you to your knees pretty often. But man, I am really realizing that being able to serve is such a privilege and opportunity. I know that right now I am learning how to deal with problems that I will face in the future, and hopefully will have developed problem solving skills, people skills and humility. Yeah some days are hard, yeah the companions aren't always the best, but I know that God has a method to create greatness out of my madness.