I will Fight a Good Fight

Wow, another week has come and gone!!

So, last Monday, Hermana Jimenez and I decided to go shoe shopping because I wanted a nice pair of sandals, and we can use them here in the mish.  And I thought shoe shopping in the states was hard.  For those of you who do not know, I use a women's size 11.  Usually, cute and attractive shoes only make it to a size 10.  Those poor store attendents kept bringing me different styles, all size 10, and I kept saying they were too small.  They were amazed, haha.  I think the sandals I eventually found were intended for men, but oh well, I like 'em :)

In our mission, we have a senior couple, Elder and Sister John.  They work in the office and also bring us our mail every week.  Well, I absolutely love them! They are the sweetest.  They are also going to finish their mission in April, so every week, Hermana John brings me something that she doesn't want to take home with her, hahahaha!

Well, my area is huge.  In fact, it is probably three times as big as I originally thought.  This week we had the chance to get to know the area a bit better.  One Hermana in our ward, Gladis, joined us in our quest to help us find the less active members, and to introduce us to some of her friends.  We had the chance to meet Rosa, the wife of an inactive member.  We invited her to church, and lo and behold, Sunday morning she was sitting in sacrament meeting!! MIRACLE.  We were so grateful.  We have also met a couple other investigators, and Gladis has more people she wants us to meet!!  YAY!

 In that same day, we had the chance to visit Martha, an investigator Hermana Jimenez met during divisiones.  She is really special.  She lives alone in her house and became interested because she wanted to know where her daughter, son, and husband who have all passed away are in this moment.  She is very interested, but she sells on Sundays, so coming to church is a roadblock, but I feel really great about her.  And she always gives us free topogigios, so that is an added bonus. :)

Funny story: we visited one hermana who has a pet bird.  She reminds of Skittles, the bird of Chelsea Osborn (insert new last name here) We had a good time as she hung out on my shoulder.

Sunday was a marvelous day.  Well, to start off, we reached our goal of 100 people in sacrament meeting!!!  So that was wonderful.  To tell the truth, I love being a missionary.  But Sundays are hard.  In fact, I could easily say that Sunday is the hardest day of the week for me.  It is the day that I think about home the most, the day I understand how less active members feel, and many times after the sacrament, I just want it to be over.  We were walking with some members to visit other less actives, and I asked Hermana Nubia (a returned missionary, single mother of 4, who feeds us lunch and dinner on Sundays and lives kiddy-corner to us) how she has been so faithful through the years.  She said really, it is by studying the scriptures.  Later that night, in our Family Home Evening, she shared the scripture 2 Tim 4:7 "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith".  She then looked at the four of us missionaries and asked "Will you be able to say that at the end of your missions?"  I hope so.  She helped remind me of my purpose and that this work and this life truly are possible.  The spirit in the room was so strong.  She continued to ask her children what they can do to improve to return to their father.  Just as much their earthly father as their Heavenly Father.  Their dad passed away about a year ago, which interrupted the two eldest girls' plans to serve missions.  But through it all,they are faithful and preparing to serve the Lord in any way possible.  They are all incredible.  This morning, I had the chance to read 2 Nephi 26: 23-28:
 23 For behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you that the Lord God worketh not in ^adarkness.
 24 He doeth not ^aanything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he ^bloveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw ^call men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.
 25 Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: ^aCome unto me all ye ^bends of the earth, ^cbuy milk and honey, without money and without price.
 26 Behold, hath he commanded any that they should ^adepart out of the synagogues, or out of the houses of worship? Behold, I say unto you, Nay.
 27 Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of his ^asalvation? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but he hath ^bgiven it free for all men; and he hath commanded his people that they should persuade all men to ^crepentance.
 28 Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but ^aall men are privileged the one ^blike unto the other, and none are forbidden.

He is waiting for us, ALL of us.  I know God loves us because he never fails to invite us to come unto Him.

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

LOVE,
Hermana Grondel :)

This is Daniel, one of my investigators from my last area, and for cambios, I couldn't go to his baptism

Yo y Hermanito Lencho, a recent convert.  He is a sweet heart!!!  When he laughs, he reminds me so much of the old man from the pixar short about chess that premiered before "A Bug's Life"

Hermana Jimenez bought eye stickers, and we have had a little too much fun with them.  I left the bathroom only to discover this on my wall :)

so I did this to Hna Jimenez's picture

I showed Hermana Jimenez what tortilla chips are. She then showed them to a member who said that they're just like mini tortillas!  I woke up to this for breakfast one morning :)

This dog's name is Gringo.  I tried to get a picture with him, but he wouldn't sit still, haha!