Divisions, Interviews, & Hna Ellgen

Queridos Todos,

This was a week of divisions, interviews, stake conference...and rain. haha.

Hno Manuelito Hna Armida ME Hna Torres at Stake Conference 

I spent the majority of the week in San Roman with Hna Ellgen. We went on three day divisions and I think we both enjoyed them more than is humanly possible. I seriously love her and we work really well together.... I think it´s because we both played basketball back in our youth... ;) Or it could be because she is one of the most humble, teachable people I have ever met and I want to be her when I grow up. Also, her area is in the middle of Centro and it is literally the most beautiful place I have ever seen. All the houses are old colonial style and there are still forts and walls that were built to keep the pirates out back in the day. #butreallythough....pirates It was kind of interesting walking down the streets of Campeche with another gringa...we got some looks...also somebody called us whiteys... #pointsfororiginality 

Hna Ellgen & I #temporarycomps

There was one point this week when Hna Ellgen and I were walking down the street in the pouring rain, soaked to the bone and laughing hysterically and I just realized something....I am happy. The gospel is happy thing. 

And this is a joyous work. There is nowhere else I´d rather be. :) 

¡Vale la pena!

Hermana Wilson

All of the food a member brought us this week....hahaha Do you see the Choco Krispis??? 

Araceli, Nine, & Glory

Hola!! 

So I have been in Campeche for four weeks now and...I still love it. This week:

My view of Campeche from the Ciber

We had the most successful P-day of my mission last Monday. We cleaned, washed clothes, studies, wrote, bought food, went shopping, FOUND ATTRACTIVE MODEST CLOTHING, ate Chinese food with the Bishop and the Elders (#firstchinesefoodin9months), and had time for a 15 minute nap. Woo. #winning

Chopsticks! 

Chinese food with the Bishop & the Elders #selfie

La Iglesia de San Roman

I went to work with Hna Schmit in Siglo XXI this week. I kind of just loved listening her talk in perfect Spanish and then perfect English and back again. (Her mom is from Argentina) I just love this beautiful language. And Hna Schmit. 

We had a Noche de Hogar with the Marquez familia and it was a cultural night. My comp taught us how to make pupusas...it´s like a ball of masa filled with stuff (beans, cheese, jam, groud beef...whatever) and then fried. (Good news for my family: I learned how to make them!) and I drank root beer. haha #Ihavenoculture

We made pupusas...it´s a Guatamalan thing 

La Familia Marquez

I also hit 9 months this week....which is half of my mission! I literally cannot believe it. I still feel like I´m just starting out this Mexican Adventure thing, and it´s literally flying by. Sometimes I feel like I´m just starting out, and then there are times when I can´t really remember how normal life was...hah. But I am literally loving every single minute of it. 

9 Months! 

And.....Hna Araceli got baptized! She was an investigator that we inherited from the elders but we taught her all of the lessons, and I just love her. It was kind of a scramble to finish all her lessons but we did it! haha We had her interview Friday night (and I got EATEN ALIVE by mosquitos), her baptism Saturday, and her confirmation Sunday. She´s one of the those rough around the edges with a huge heart type. And her baptism was the just the best. She shared her testimony after the ordinance and just cried because she knows that this church is true and it really has changed her life. #itdoesn´tgetanybetterthanthat 

Araceli´s Baptism! 

Elder Martinez, Elder Parrott, Araceli, Hna Torres, Hna Wilson, Hna Ligia, & her kids

Araceli´s Confirmation! 

#selfie

Me, Araceli, Hna Torres

I thought a lot this week about what it is that is so special about the mission and here is what I realized:The greatest glory I could ever find is to be a tool in the Hands of the Lord for the Salvation of other people.
My greatest glory is to be so used up that I am nothing more than what He wants me to be. 

We get asked a lot why we don´t use our names...And I know there are several reasons, but really for me, it´s because what I, McKenna, want to do really doesn´t matter. I am here to serve others and to serve my Savior.

And that is my greatest glory. 

I love you all!! More than you know!! 

¡Vale la pena!

Hermana Wilson

Hna Hoggan, Hna Torres, ME, Hna Velasquez

La familia Perez....with a LOT of fish.

Food, People, & Numbers

Hola!! 

The work continues here in Santa Lucia. And even though it rained almost every day, it was an incredibly good week. (Also we realized that when we put our rainjackets on over our bags we look like Quasimodo.) 

We had divisions with San Roman this week, and Hna Ellgen from Colorado came to work with me in Santa Lucia. It was the first time I´ve worked with an American since my mission mom, and it was the best thing ever. #englishparty We both love basketball, were both very against serving a mission until we decided to go, and she is taller and whiter than me so that was a change. :)

Me & Hna Ellgen. Love her. :)

Hna Ellgen, Hna Cockerham, Hna Torres, & I

And after we went to Alameda to work with Hna Hoggan and Hna Velazquez (because Hna Hoggan has been sick and can´t leave the house). I stayed in the house with Hna Hoggan while Hna Torres went to work with Hna Velazquez. We lost a day of work in our area but at the end of the week when we sent in our totals we realized we had our best week yet here. Just goes to show that the Lord blesses us when we make sacrifices and help others. 

Hna Velazquez, ME, Hna Hoggan (she has dengue), Hna Torres

Some numbers from this week:

-7 new investigators

-12 investigators with a baptismal date

-11 references contacted

-1 investigator named Elvis #thankyaverymuch

We talked a lot this week about numbers but also how the numbers themselves aren´t important... the people are. And we have some really good people here. :) Like Evangelina who can´t get baptized yet because she´s not married and her partner refuses to get married, but who shows up half an hour early to church anyway and wants to go to Mérida just to be able to see the temple. Or Angel who is a recovering alcoholic, but came to watch a baptism this week and we managed to explain the whole Plan of Salvation while we were waiting for it to start. Or Valeria (10) and Vania (9) who are recent converts and can tell you exactly what two things are missing during an apostasy. 

Also, Santa Lucia is seriously the best ward to be in as a missionary. They LOVE us. There´s a sister who brings us breakfast or dinner to the house two or three times a week, a sister pulled us out of Relief Society (literally pulled us out) and took us to a secret room with all the missionaries and gave us sandwiches yesterday, the Bishop is taking us out to dinner today, and the members fight over who gets to feed the sister missionaries. 

My Chapel!! 

So mom if you were worried about me....don´t be. (Also why is it that all these expressiones of love are food related... #lovelanguages)

Basically, I am incredibly happy here and incredibly well fed. Physically and spiritually speaking. :) I love being a missionary, and there is no where else I´d rather be than right here in Campeche sharing the gospel that I know is true. :) Sending my love!!!! 

¡Vale la pena!

Hermana Wilson

Family, Rain, & Libro de Mormon

Shout out to my baby sister who is turning 18 this week....Love you!!! 

¡Que tal!

Hello my dearest people. The work continues here in beautiful Campeche. (And really..it´s beautiful) This week:

Family History Moment: I was teaching the Relief Society president how to use familysearch.org and we totally found the census with the names of her grandparents and her dad. It was one of those incredible moments when I could feel that the veil isn´t all that thick and that families really can be forever....how incredible is our Heavenly Father´s plan. :) 

An old investigator called up the elders this week and told them he wants to get baptized...and he lives in our area. BTW no one ever calls out of the blue and says that they want to get baptized. Hno Angel is a recovering alcoholic who is trying to quit drinking and he really, really, really wants to change his life and watching him watch his four year old daughter and talk about how much he wants to change for her just about broke my heart. His baptism should be in just about 5 weeks (or sooner....but we haven´t told him that). :) 

I got completely fried this week....I thought I was tan and that I couldn´t burn anymore. HAH. Yeah....no. 

In other news about the weather, we went to visit an investigator when it started to rain. And when I say rain, I mean RAIN. The road literally turned into a little river as we hid out in our investigators house. On the plus side: 

1. we were inside and not out contacting

2. she gave us pocorn while we were waiting out the rain #firstpopcornin9months

The rainy season has offically begun here in Campeche...and the drainage system here is horrible. The thought actually passed through my head yesterday that I should have brought my water boots. haha. 

Rain. So much water you wouldn´t even believe it. 

I finished the Book of Mormon in Spanish this week. I read the whole thing cover to cover in five weeks and can I just tell you something.... IT¨S TRUE. And the more I read the Book of Mormon the more I come to understand my Savior and what He wants for me. I know that book is true. And I know that it changes lives....I´ve seen it in others, and I´ve also seen it in myself. I know I´m not perfect, but I know I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and has made it possible that through His Only Begotten Son I can be a little bit better every day.

And there´s nothing better than that. Sending you all of my love!!

¡Vale la pena!

Hermana Wilson

This is 85% of my house. 

My desk

Buses, Campeche, & My Purpose

Hola!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my goodness what a week. After traveling all day Monday (.....and cleaning the apartment with what was left of the day....Why do I always inherit houses from Elders???They´re great and all, but their cleaning skills... #subpar) we then proceeded to spend most of Tuesday getting lost in our area. 

Fun fact, in Merida the streets are by number, in Campeche they all have names....like Mango or Baja California or names of presidents and stuff...you can imagine how that´s working out for us.

Then Wednesday we had a meeting with Elder Valenzuela of the 70. And he was just awesome. He talked about being missionaries of "integro proposito" (I think that translates to like fulness of purpose but...quien sabe); that we can´t just focus on baptisms but let less active members fall through the cracks, and we can´t just focus and members and not find new investigators. We have to have a balance in everything. 

And Friday night....we went back to Merida!! haha We had a special leadership council in Merida Saturday morning with Elder Valenzuela again so it was back on the bus Friday night. We stayed with two sisters in their teeny tiny house and ended up having to put our hammocks bunk bed style and out the door in order to make it all work. Saturday was the leadership council and then we didn´t get back to Campeche until like 6. 

Hammock Adventures

Hammock  Adventures Pt. 2

Seriously I´ve done more traveling this week than I´ve done my whole mission combined.

So Campeche...it is like a whole other mission really. First of all, we´re close the the ocean here. If we go up on the hills (yes there are hills here) we can see it from our area. So it´s not as hot here...but it is more humid here. #youcan´twinthemall Also I kind of feel like I´m on vacation because it smells like the beach here. hah The houses are REALLY close together. They have these things called andadors (walkways) and instead of streets in a lot of our area the andadores are what seperate the houses. (I´ll send pictures next week). The ward is amazing, there are EIGHT missionaries, 6 elders and us. And we´re the first sisters they´ve had in the ward in more than 20 or 30 years. 

Basically we´ve been adopted by the majority of the sisters here. hah. 

I´m just incredibly happy. I´ve thought a lot this week about my purpose and why I´m here, and basically I´ve come to one conclusion.

There is nowhere else that I´m supposed to be right now. 

I´m not supposed to be at school or at home or married or watching TV or whatever... I´m supposed to be here in Mexico sharing the gospel and loving these people. I love this gospel, I love my Savior, and I love these people here in Campeche...What else is there?? 

¡Vale la pena!

Hermana Wilson

Zona Campeche!

Transfer 6: Chuburná 2

Best Things...

-Knowing your area like the back of your hand.

Worst Things...

-Knowing your area like the back of your hand.

-Transfers at 10 sunday night.

Things that are working for me...

-Spray sunscreen. Buy some! 

I wish I would have known...

-Bring dry shampoo. My hair is gross after a day of sweating. But seriously though. Sweat. 

-DON´T buy the plastic shoes here and if you do buy a size bigger because if they are at all tight (and you have messed up feet like me) they TEAR UP your feet and then your companion tells you you look like the missionary from the Other Side of Heaven (when the rats ate the bottom of his feet). Buy plastic shoes in the states. #Nuffsaid

Food...

-Costco food tastes the same in Mexico. 

-Mangos, can we talk about how much I love mangos??? 

-There are so many weird fruits here that I can´t even explain them all...but I love almost all of them. #Almost

Fun Facts about Mexico/This Mission...

-I don´t know if I´ve mentioned this, but all the last names here are so weird (well not weird...just not what I think when I think Mexican names) like Chi, Dzab, Tzul, Xequeb, Poot, Pech...etc. 

-Everyone calls me doll here...I´m not a barbie!!!!

Weather...

-It is hot!!!! Like above 105 every single day....And then it was like 110 for a week. They say it´s a record breaking year, even for Mérida...wooo. What luck I have. 

Mayan...

-co´ox virar: umm... I think it means someone who changes (like religion) 

-kekem: cerdo: pig

I learned...

-If an investigator goes to Gospel Principles class it counts as a lesson with a member present....do you know how many lessons I haven´t counted!!?? 

-How to be a Sister Training Leader....It´s more than you think