Anybody See the Gemelas?

Whelp.....no bishop, no relief society president, no ward secretary, no ward missionaries, no primary presidency, no young men’s presidency, no Sunday school presidency, and yes, I like you, am quite amazed that this ward is still somewhat functioning! But they are and it’s probably has something to do with the fact that the entire ward is family.  Things have been a little different but.......

P-day exploring

Now for the greatest plot twist of my entire mission: Amayuca is a REALLY small town so rumors spread fast, like REALLY fast, and they grow even faster.  Now for the rumor: In a very small town near ours, two twins were apparently playing Ouija board and became possessed by evil spirits.  So they naturally did the only normal thing to do under the situation....they ate their parents and then they took off to live in the fields living off of wild dogs.  Yup, that was the beginning and then...the story is that it was actually two guerras (white people) that were here on vacation and now they’re going around eating unexpected people in the street. So every so often we had heard kids in the street whispering gemelas (twins) as we passed, but we had no idea what was going on so we just kept walking.

Maybe this is what gemelas look like

A few days later around sundown, we were super lost and looking for directions and decided to ask a lady who was walking by...rather quickly.  As we turned to talk to her she didn’t respond...weird. So we called out again and she only looked worriedly over her shoulder and then kept trotting down the street.  So we walked quickly after her hoping to get her attention and her help.  HORRIBLE IDEA!!! The poor lady took off running when she saw we were gaining on her and yelled over her shoulder at our pleas for help, "DONT EAT ME!" You can only imagine how confused we were until the next day when one of our investigators told us that the neighbors had seen the gemelas the other night on her very street (aka us ;))

Maybe if we had a sign

So now people run from us because the rumors have spread to include that the twins are nuns, that they’re always by churches, and they have secret allies (aka members).  The other day a member said, "Good thing the people here are scared folk or I’m sure you guys would have been lynched by now! Hahaha imagine that" .....ummmm hahahaha. All the members think it’s the funniest thing to ever happen and my comp and I are having a fabulous time with it.  I personally find it hilarious!

For all the walking we have been doing we are still sitting on a whole lot of zeros but the Lord has a greater plan for us. I recently found a quote that I really like that says:

Heavenly Father knows us, loves us, and desires everything necessary for us to return to His presence. And sometimes that includes trials, troubles, and challenges (see 1 Peter 1:7). If Heavenly Father were to free us from our challenges simply because we asked, He would deny us the very experiences necessary for our salvation. We must learn to trust in God’s plan for us and submit our will to His. As we align our desires with His desires and acknowledge our complete dependence on Him, we may qualify to receive “the end of [our] faith, even the salvation of [our] souls” (1 Peter 1:9).

I know with all my heart that Heavenly Fathers plan for each of us is so much greater than that which we can comprehend.  We have two choices in this life, to overcome or be trodden down and I personally enjoy the first one so much more.  One day in the future we will be able to see the big picture of all our struggles.  I feel like recently I’ve been crying out "hope yah know, I had a hard time" when there is no one who knows more perfectly then the Lord that I was struggling.  Let us never forget how truly he knows us, in a way more complete then we could ever imagine, and is willing to go to whatever length to help us if we but ask Him!

Thanks for all your love and support!

See you soon,

Hermana Neu

Into Outer Darkness

Well hello there from the bountiful dead grass fields of the sweltering Sahara of our little city  (holy cow that pool across the street is taunting me!).

Day 1: No house

Day 2: No light....and for many days after

Day 3: No air (and literally my comp can’t breathe! We think she’s allergic to Morelos...she’s still super clogged and sick)

Day 4: Random Guests

       Stayed home because my comp had a fever and still couldn’t breathe. I took the time to organize our three area books into one area book with all the antiguo investigators organized into colonies and then in alphabetical order....yup I’m crazy, but organizing always helps me to de-stress! While I was lost in a maze of over 600 registros there was a knock at the door (odd because we know literally nobody).  I opened it to see a woman and three children standing at my door.  Ummm, I didn’t order Girl Scout cookies.... But then I saw the little old man in the back and I started straight up laughing.  Safe to say we’ve been found, again, by the Garcia family.  I have to say that President was all but asking for that to happen when he sent us to an area 20 minutes away from Garcia’s grandparents’ home...and into a ward where her grandpa was branch president way back in the day and her father served as high council men.  So I woke up my sick companion to let her know that her aunt, cousins, and grandparents were outside our door, only to come back down the stairs to find them in our house....this is so illegal (highlight of the week!)

Day 5: Sunburnt, fasting, and crazy lost....lucky all the cambi drivers had pity on us and gave us free rides

Day 6-7: The sweet relief of general conference!!!!!!!!!

    We basically lived in the stake center all weekend watching the conference in English (so we could hear their real voices) with all the American elders and then quickly changing the station to Spanish during the last session for the Latino speakers.  If there are two HUGE things we can pull out of conference it’s the importance of the family and of personal conversion.  I think the greatest part about conference is receiving answers to all the little things we need to hear.  I’m grateful for the opportunity that we have to hope in the powers and redeeming life of Christ! I know that He lives and has made the pathway possible to return to our Heavenly Home.  I know that I can never thank Him for the price that He paid for me but it’s truly a blessing that I can show my appreciation for everyday as I remember to apply it!

With an abundance of Love,

Hermana Neuberger