Conference Week

This weekend we had district conference (like stake conference, but this isn't big enough to be a stake). So we had president here with his wife to speak in the conference. It was cool. The Saturday session was in Chahuites (about 45 minutes from Zanatepec) and then the Sunday part was in Zanatepec because it's the midpoint for the area. That was convenient. :) We got all dressed up in the traditional clothes of this part of Oaxaca (I'll try to put in some picutres for you all). :) and it was fun to have all kinds of pictures taken and such. Also while there for the Saturday part I met the mom of two of the girls from my ward in Tapachula. And then on Sunday she gave me a shirt that they asked her to buy for me. Her brother and her dad also went out of their way to come talk to me. It was so great to be able to have that sort of communication with some people from that ward. I've missed that ward lots!

Besides the conference, the week went well too. We had a nice district meeting that we talked about the importance of inviting people. So we had lots of baptism invitations and by Saturday we had 8 who accepted a date. The sad thing is that only two people went to conference, so some of their dates had to fall. We're going to just keep on a working with them though so they can make it to be baptized!! I love it because I'm just seeing the work move right along here. The people don't go to church though. It's the biggest problem with the work here right now. Everyone says they will and we just get so excited, then we get there and none of them even go.. :( But we'll help them soon.

We did have a cool thing that is at least a good first step. We have a family we've been teaching and they are super great! They haven't been able to go to church yet but they are beginning to progress. On Thursday though, they went to the activity that we had planned. It was a soccer night. Every week we have activities. But this one was perfect because that whole family (4 of them and their nephew) came and also another investigator. I'm happy to be here doing the work of the Lord and am excited to see the change and improvement that each person can make!

I hope you all have a great week and enjoy the end of February!! Love you all! Have fun! :)
Hermana Humphrey

Hermana Humphrey, Hermana Oliphant, and Ceci

District Conference

Ceci with Hnas Humphrey and Oliphant in traditional Zanatepec dress

Four hermanas in traditional dress

Beautiful hair!

Temple Day and Eating Coconut

Right now I'm just here talking to you all and eating coconut.. weird I know, but I have acquired a taste for it or something. And it's a nice snack. But I'm not really thinking I will stick with the whole eating coconut after the mission thing because it won't be the same..

This week we got a call on Tuesday and they told us we were off to Tuxtla (three hours from the call) because I expire today.. So we packed up, went to our district meeting and headed off to Tuxtla. On the way we picked up (guess who?) Hermana Bate! (companion from the MTC) So we got to travel there together and chat and catch up and all that fun stuff. Then President George had us stay in the mission home while we were there. So we got to stay there (super nice + hot showers = happy camper.. well without the camping). And the next morning we went and got our finger prints taken (again (even though we did that last year.. do they think they change?.. it was weird, but it works)). And we were with like 5 of us from our district! It was so great to see them all (I also saw the others as they were out in Tuxtla and such)! So it was a good day.

Then later that day, we asked president if we could stay for an extra night because they were all going to the temple that night. And he said we could! That was so great! We ended up being there for three days including all the travel time and such - four hours each way.

With all that, it kind of took away from a lot of our working time, but we still did what we could, so that counts. The work just keeps on putting along. Sometimes it's not as hard as other times, but it's never easy. The people who say they'll go to church rarely do, but we just keep working and learning. I've certainly learned a lot this week and just keep on learning every day. On Saturday for Valentines day I studied about love.. the love God and Jesus had for each of us is so special and amazing! And we just need to love others. The two commandments most important that we have are to love God and to love others. So I invite you all to do the same. It will bless your lives and the lives of many around you! Have a cool week!

Hermana Humphrey

P.S. today I read 1 Nephi 13 and suggest for you all to read it and analyze it. It's really cool and talks a lot about the Book of Mormon, the Bible, the Restoration, and other good things.

I know the Book of Mormon is true and we have it now for our benefit and use because God loves us and doesn't want us to be left without knowledge of the truth and of the right. 2 Nephi 3:12.
Have fun! :)

I Don't Have a Cool Title, But Hi

Hey friends and family! I hope you are all doing great and are enjoying your February days. I've heard it's feeling like spring there, so does that mean that the groundhog didn't see his shadow?

This week has been  a good week. Not a super eventful or crazy week, but a good one though. We had a super special lesson Monday night. We have an investigator who has been to church many times, but never in his time living here. His dad is a member, but he's just never chosen to be baptized too. We've visited him a few times, but he just seemed to be afraid to pray, but on Monday we talked with him and he said he was in 2 Nephi in the Book of Mormon. So we decided to have a prayer there with him to ask if it was true. And it was so cool to be able to have that opportunity. We prayed and stayed kneeling about 5 minutes after. And then after that he told us he felt really hot and he was sweating. It was definitely the Spirit! We could feel it and know that that's what it was. And it was even stronger for him.

We also had other great lessons this week. But besides those I have had some learning experiences (as always). One was that we had to figure out and do an activity at the church again. This time it was all on us - not just a basic idea that we make happen. So it was good that we were able to do that. It was weird, but now I'm learning to be better at that kind of thing.

I'm still not very good at giving talks. I think last week I mentioned that I had been assigned to talk yesterday. Well I studied all week to plan for it and I learned a lot that's for sure. But when the moment came to get up and talk it was much harder than I expected. It was my first talk that I've ever done with the attempt at not having a written script to read. I feel like having a companion and not being in front of so many people makes it so much easier, but I'm learning. It was good that I had the opportunity. But also it was good that the stake people came because that meant that there was one more speaker and I didn't have to talk as long.

All in all, we had a good week. We did good things. And we have some great investigators. The family I think I told you all about last week is still doing great and we are excited working with them. They haven't been to church yet, but I know they will get there! We have a few others we're working hard with and I know the miracles always come and the success we always work for! We just don't always know when it will be.

Have a lovely week and do good things! Enjoy Valentines!!

Hermana Humphrey

These are lambs - not dogs

So beautiful!

2-D Spider Day

Hey.. Happy Groundhog Day dear friends!! I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does. I'm hoping that next year it falls on a weekend so I can be at home to celebrate it with the family! :) So today I saw a spider. Wow what a weird thing for here in Mexico. But this one was really teeny tiny and I just looked at it and thought.. wow that is a 2-D spider. I didn't even know that was a thing. But it almost is..

It's been a nice week. We had intercambios for two days (Tuesday and Wednesday). It went really well. But we went to the part of our area that is like a desert and I kind of got cooked because I didn't use sunscreen on my arms. Bad idea.. the things you learn in a mission are very important. It was a good time, but it was also nice to be back with my normal companion here.

Besides that we had the opportunity to work a lot with the members here. It has helped so much in the work. For one thing it makes us even more excited because we know it's much more effective that way. Two, the members get excited too. Three, good things happen like when the people start to come to church. And all that good stuff. We found a boy who is 13 years old and he's super excited. He has friends in the branch and has accepted to prepare for baptism! So I'm excited for him. We also have found a few others who are really looking like they'll progress!

Another cool thing for the week is that I learned that I can give a lesson/activity on the spot. Before the mission that would've freaked me out a lot. But when we got to the activity on Thursday we asked what was the plan and they said they had a basic idea, but we decided to help so it would be more interactive. And that is just what we did. We taught about baptism and the temple. But we didn't just teach.. we taught like a family home evening type thing where they had to look up scriptures and answer questions and such.

The mission is really helping me to prepare for my future. To have callings in the church and also just for my life in general. The things I have to do here sometimes are things I wouldn't have been willing to do back home, but now I have learned that I can do it and there's no reason to worry. I'm pretty sure that next week I will have learned that giving a talk without a script is a doable thing. I'm preparing a talk for next week and right now I'm a little nervous. But I know it will go just fine. It's a good thing I am having this opportunity (it's the first time I've been asked to give a talk in my mission - weird as it is). So we'll see how it goes! Great for sure.

I hope you all have a fun and exciting week full of good and positive things! I love hearing from you all and hope you have a great February!!

Hermana Humphrey