Well this week has been pretty great!

We had a Fiesta a la capilla this Saturday and it was so fun- so Mexican. I loved it :) It was a blast.

La Fiesta a la Capilla

There were decorations and dances and food and mariachi bands and singing and all sorts of fun- they really do like to party! I got a picture with a lasso guy and Xochilt did a dance with the primary and I helped serve dinner which was CHAOS but it was so fun :) I love our ward and the people and the culture that I serve in :)  

What's A Party without a Mariachi Band

I love it so much that I accidentally walked into the "you should marry a Mexican!" trap like 3+ times this week! We'll be eating food with the members or whatever and they will be like,

"Sorry this is really hot! Mucho picante!"

And Hermana Toney is all like, "Oh, ella encanta picante!"

Member: "Oh, enserio??"

Me: "Por supuesto!" (funny thing, I practice speaking Spanish so much I hardly ever write it, so sorry if I'm spelling it all wrong :P)

Member: jafko djsfklsdj aflj dskalfj sdk

Me: "Si, este comida es muy rica!"

Hermana Toney: "Do you know what they just said?"

Me: "uh.... guess not?"

Hermana Toney: "They just said, 'if you like the spice, you should marry a Mexican;"

Me: "Oooohhhhhhhhh ok, that's why they are laughing..."

Haha seriously, that's happened more than 3 times this week alone. Still learning Spanish! :)

Lasso Guy

Zone Leaders with the Xochilt Dancer

We had a miracle first lesson this week- while we were looking for less actives last week, we met a family who told us that the person we were looking for moved away years ago. We asked the family if they would be wiling to hear our message, and they said yeah and just come by whenever! Great! Then this week, we were looking for some less actives around that same house, and I felt like we needed to go by. We did. The mom and her son were there and they let us right in! They are GOLDEN. Oh my goodness. She said so many things throughout the lesson that just screamed to us that she was prepared- she knew that the stuff about the apostasy was true, and she knew that the Book of Mormon was true. She said that some elders had come by a year ago and given her that Book of Mormon- she read the first page and they never came back! But we showed up just as she is starting a battle with cancer. And her cousin is on a mission in Mexico right now.. whaaaat? And she's really into her Aztec roots- we just sat there thinking, just wait til you read the Book of Mormon! It will blow you out of the water! :) It was great and we committed her to baptism at the end of the lesson. It was one of those 'too good to be true' kind of lessons that you think only exist in the Ensign. I sat there and asked myself a million times during the lesson- "Is this real??" "Are you really this golden?" etc. It was amazing, and we are so excited for her and her family :) I couldn't believe that we had found someone that was that prepared and that hungry for the living gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a miracle and I felt so blessed.

...BUT our area is getting kind of split, and it sounds like we will be loosing them to the Elders. That's ok, they will do great! But we are kinda bummed out we wont get to teach them anymore :P

Transfers are tomorrow! Whooo! And this whole week, Hermana Toney and I were thinking that we would get split and have to train (because with so many new missionaries, they have been stressing the fact that we need to learn fast so we can train!). But then we got a text saying we wouldn't get a transfer call. I had a sigh of relief personally, but it was rather anti-climatic. Ha :)

Our Zone Leader is leaving us...

But we are loosing about 1/3 of our area, and they are bringing in another set of Hermanas to our ward, and we are going to have to share our car so we will be on buses half the time. Hermana Toney and I are rather excited for another adventurous transfer together in the South Side Spanish :)

We have a blast together.

Well, that email was kind of short, but I don't really have anything else to say.. I know this church is true, God's hand is in this work every step of the way! Being on a mission is work, but it's fulfilling and worth it, especially if you are willing to put your all into it. These people that you come in contact are worth it. Even the slightly weirder ones... :) The Book of Mormon is true, Joseph Smith is a prophet, God is my Heavenly Father and Christ is my Savior. I love it! :)

Love you all, have a great one :)

Hermana Walton

Hello there!

Well this week has been a blast- I LOVED IT 

This week, Hermana Toney and I

decided to work on a project where we get to know every single member in our area- we got an updated ward list a couple weeks ago, and didn't recognize over half the names in our area! So we are going through trying to find/meet them all. A lot of the addresses are bad, or they have moved a long time ago, but we are finding a lot of them :) We are even finding some people who felt forgotten, and need the gospel back in their lives at this specific time! There is one sister who had a baby 3 weeks ago (cutest little thing ever!!!) and she has been missing her relationship with her Savior. Another sister was baptized 4 or 5 years ago and hasn't been to church since- she let work and stuff get in the way- but now, her daughters are struggling through their teen years, and this sister just wants to know how to help them. Luckily, this message we bring can strengthen families, and the guidance we have of modern-day prophets can make those difficult teen years a little more manageable. Hermana Toney and I are really looking forward to working with these sisters in the coming weeks.  :) I promise each of you that Heavenly Father is mindful of His children.

Hermana Toney's birthday was the same day as Ricardo's baptism! Partayyy! :)  

Sister Toneys Birthday Decorations

Ha I made her minion cupcakes from the surprise package her mom sent me to set up birthday stuff.

Minion Cupcakes -- Yes, those are Twinkies

 Ricardo was baptized this past Saturday! Whooo! It was so awesome!

Ricardo

It was a joint-baptism with a 12 year old girl named Naomi. It was such a wonderful experience, and I felt the Spirit so strongly. We are so excited for Ricardo- he is doing great! The best part of the day was seeing the smile on Elder Ibarra's face after he baptized Naomi. Ricardo was baptized by Hermano Cerrato. Yep, the same one who baptized Edyn- he and his family are the best member missionaries everrrrr! They are such wonderful examples. And Ricardo was a referral from a member of another ward. Members do powerful work.

 That's pretty much it for now. We have a Zone Activity we are going to today that I am SO excited for :) I love them. I love the missionaries that I work with- they are all so awesome and I feel so blessed to be able to know them and work with them! 

Love you all!!

Hermana Walton

Our District...

Tamarindo Rapado

Chicago Temple Visit

Hello!

I'm glad seminary went well for you this week- You are going to be awesome!! I loved my seminary classes and teachers- all of them! And what a privilege to teach on the Book of Mormon this year! I love the Book of Mormon SO MUCH.  There are so many examples of such amazing people. And I know that whatever I'm going through, I'm in good company! Anyone from Nephi to Alma to Amulek to Helaman to Moroni to the other prophet Nephi to Samuel the Lamanite to Mormon (read the book of Mormon IN the Book of Mormon for personal study this morning. That's kind of a sad one :P) But I am in SUCH good company. I'm not the first missionary, nor the last. I'm not the first one who's been laughed at, mocked, ignored, treated badly, commented at, whatever. Plus, they had to go through a lot harder things than I do! But they did it because they (like me) know that this message we bring is true. They (like me) know that Christ lives and has overcome everything for us. It's such a beautiful message, and the stories of the prophets and missionaries in the Book of Mormon help me SO MUCH to receive strength and optimism for every single day. I am so grateful for them and their example.

The Book of Mormon is so powerful. Our investigator Ricardo is preparing for baptism this Saturday, and since he's been reading the Book of Mormon, there is a change in him that is as noticeable as night and day. Literally. When we finally got him to start reading the Book of Mormon, his spirit changed- he was happier, more social, more at peace with his life. His prayers improved a ton, and as a natural result of that, his relationship with his Heavenly Father has grown stronger. His knowledge about our Savior Jesus Christ has become so much more firm, and he desires (all the time) to learn more about his Savior.

All we want is to invite people to experience this for themselves. The Book of Mormon is SO POWERFUL. Yes, we read and love the Bible. But everyone has the Bible. The Book of Mormon is the difference. We invite people to read it and see how it can add upon and strengthen their faith in and knowledge of a God they already know exists, and a Christ who they already know has died for their sins. It is amazing. We just invite you to read it and try for yourself!

So... here's my compliment of the week:

"You don't speak Spanish, but you eat like a Mexican!"

Best. Compliment. Ever.

I still get a kick out of that one :)

We were eating dinner at a members house, and Hermano Martinez looks over at me spooning my second serving of potatoes literally drenched in Chile del Arbol and makes that comment. Ha I laughed so hard.... it's true. I love it. I love the picosa! I tried jabaneros for the first time this week and LOOOOOVED it :) I just like my food to have a little spice! It's funny though- we'll be eating food with members, investigators, random people, whoever! And I'll start spooning on the picosa and drenching it in Valentina, and they get SO concerned- "Careful, that's really really hot!" I say thank you, eat it, love it, laugh, and get more picosa. They think it's funny :)

I think that's kind of it for now. I don't have a ton of time left, but it's been an awesome week! Helping Ricardo finish up preparing for his baptism this week, and helping other investigators, and trying to find others who are ready to hear our message! It's great! Lots of work, but we have fun with it. Particularly when Hermana Toney and I start quoting Brian Regan or Monty Python... it helps to have comic relief every now and then, and you would be amazed how applicable some of those quote can be... :)

Ha I love you all and am gladall is going well! Have an awesome week!!

Hermana Walton