November 28, 2016: A Bear Almost Killed Me

This week it was getting dark, and we were knocking doors... and we went around the corner when this bear, (or huge dog) came running after us!  I seriously thought I was going to die!   But then was SO grateful when I realized it was on a chain, and it got yanked back and couldn't reach us.  Phew!  "Scares me little bits."  Random story to start off.... 

This week was awesome, we had some really amazing experiences knocking doors, other than almost dying. We found lots of people this week that are members inactive, and haven't gone to church in many years, but have kids 8 years old, and want us to visit them so that they can go back to church and teach their kids. WOW. Dios is truly amazing. It doesn't matter how far away we try to run, He is ALWAYS conscious of us, and knows where we are. Sometimes he lets us run on the wild side for a few minutes.  But then He puts someone in our path to remind us that we didn't make such good choices, and that it would really be better and easier if we returned to the blessing of God. It's like an apostle said in General Conference, "if you leave the church, where are you going to go?"

This week I was on exchanges with an hermana. And we said a prayer to know which house to knock on.  And we started knocking and NOBODY wanted to hear us, we kept knocking until finally we saw a house on a hill. We knocked on the door, and a muchacha, came out and said, "Come in. Wow, you got here fast!"... I thought she knew the other hermana.  But nope... turns out she thought we were a client of hers because she sells clothes.  But also, she explained to us all the problems she was facing, and that she knew it was an answer that we had come to her house.

We never know what God has in His plans, but He does, and it is always something way better than we could ever imagine! 

I love you all. Hope you have a fantastic week on the corner of awesome and bomdiggity.  And if you can, eat some tacos, because that always makes EVERYThING better! 

Oceans of love,

Hermana Barton

From Meredith's letter to Mom:

...Valeria got confirmed this week because last week she was sick. It was so awesome; the blessing she received was very special. And if you can, pray for Angela, who is hopefully going to get baptized this Saturday! She is awesome, love her!

Tonight we are going to have FHE with some members, Angela, and Valeria, and talk about Jesus Christ--should be awesome! 

I am super stoked, I have been talking to Hermana Galindo from Peñasco. She is real good. They are going to church every Sunday.  She is happy in her matrimonio and they have the plans to get sealed in Febrero! If they get sealed, we will HAVE to go! I love her! We talk almost every week or send a little message. What blessing and miracles! It is amazing what the gospel can do in a life, and more in a family--in this life and for the eternities! I should quote that... ¨¨Bombastical 4:7¨¨ jaja jk!!

________________________________________

Pics: 

Of  compañeras, Valeria's baptism and Hermano Francisco, an ex luchador and awesome!  Someday I'll tell you about him.

PS--Now we don't have to use pants, back to faldas! Wahoooo, feel like a misionera again!

November 21, 2016: Valeria and Angela and Blessing Sparkles

This week we had the baptism of Valeria! She is the first to get baptized in her family. And all her family came and it was a special experience. But she got to the church late because she was dying her hair.. .so she got to her baptism with bleach blonde hair, SUPER embarrassed to take pics. But it's the memories.. jajaja and she got baptized.  And it was SUPER awesome.  My comps and I sang a musical number with the guitar. It actually sounded good, and everyone was crying. I hope they weren't crying because of our voices.  I hope they were crying because they felt so strong the spirit! ;) I'll send pics! 

I wanted to share about a woman we are teaching named Angela. First of all, a few weeks ago... Hermana Neff and I had some goals, and on Saturday night we needed to find 3 more new people to teach. We were at a baptism, and were coming back in taxi, praying for help to find 3 new people in the 1 hour we had left in the day. We told the taxi driver to take us to a street, and he took us there, then turned down another street, and stopped randomly in front of a house. 

We told him it was fine, and thanked him as we got out. This house was full of people, and the door was open. We said a prayer, and walked up, and there were three people who accepted to hear our message. WOW, talk about blessing sparkles--it was more like a lightning bolt blessing!  Well we taught them, and made another appointment. We went back, and didn't know how interested they were. The mom, Angela, started to hear us, and we have been teaching her.

Turns out that her best friend at work is a Mormon, and not active. And has been talking to her. And Angela started reading the Book of Mormon. And last week went to an activity at church with her friend, and then went to church with us on Sunday. And she also went to Valeria's baptism,and then yesterday to church and LOVED it. Her kids asked her if she is going to get baptized and she said, "Of Course." And they told her they aren't going to go with her and she said, "It doesn't matter.  I will go alone."

She is awesome. What a blessing! She is going to get baptized on the 3rd of December. And also the other cool part is that after 6 years, her friend from work has now started going to church again too! God works in wondrous ways!  It all started with a prayer and a miracle from the taxi driver that led us to Angela. I know that God answers all of our prayers. And that if we make goals, and do our part, then pray to God to help us accomplish the goals, that He ALWAYS puts the ways that we can have success. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! And birthday shout out to Chatty Maddy who is turning 19 years old this week! CRAZY!

Oceans of Love,

Hermana Barton

November 14, 2016: "What About the Grandma in the Trunk?"

To start out with a funny story...since we are close to the border, the people here are often crossing to the US. This week a family was telling us about how their family was recently crossing, and sometimes it is hard because you wait in long lines, and they have to check your car.  Well the family was almost done and ready to pass, when the border patrol was checking the last passport of their 4 year old. And when they finished, the four year old said: "What about Grandma in the trunk?" jajaja!  So they had to check the WHOLE car to make sure they didn't miss the grandma in the trunk! The mom said, "I wanted to die! But now thinking of it, I say it with laughter." hahaha.

This week, a girl named Valeria is going to get baptized. She was praying and reading a lot the Book of Mormon to know if it was true. She said that on Friday, she prayed that she could have a dream to know if it was true. And that in the night, she had a dream that she was in a super big pool, and that she was doing cannon balls into the water, and was SO happy, and content. She woke up and knew that it was an answer that if she got baptized she could feel this happiness, and follow Jesus Christ. Wow!  Love this answer and dream. Heavenly Father is incredible. Also another blessing sparkle, a popcorn kind of deal, is that this week the family of Valeria also started listening to us. And they are all going to go to her baptism this week. And Valeria is praying that she can be an example for them, that soon they can follow her footsteps, so that one day they can be an eternal family. WOW. Never have I felt so much happiness in my life. A happiness that I can't describe.  A happiness that the world doesn't offer, but only our Heavenly Father offers.

I am super stoked, because Hermana Neff and I didn't get transferred...well... "mas o menos."  We get to stay here together, but they are sending us a semi new hermana to be with us. It will be a good experience... haha; but the only thing is that we have two of everything.. two beds, etc.  So we will see what we can scrounge up to make us all fit! Love it.  Always a new adventure in Mexico!

Hope you all have a great week!  Birthday shout out to Zaney Lainie the Great who is turning 12 tomorrow!

Oceans of love,

Hermana Barton

November 7, 2016: Mormon.com

This week was 'bombastic,' like my Dad always says. Meaning that is was awesome, fantastic, and I'm stoked. [Editor's note, aka Amy: Joe actually knows that he is using the word 'bombastic' completely out of context when he uses it in this way. In fact, not just out of context, but altogether incorrect. And yet, it just feels so good in his mouth that he really likes to call things 'bombastic' when they are off the hook awesome, just like Meredith explains. Just had to clarify for you all. Some of you know that Joe loves to make up new words or use existing words and make his own meaning. Some of you may not know this little tidbit about him. Back to our Hermana.]

One day we went to visit an hermana and she was so thrilled with life. She explained to us that her blessings were coming in like popcorn. Pop, pop...just expanding, and in abundance, laying in the Crazy Pop. And that everything is going along smooth, warming up, and then: Boom! Pop! Pop!  Tons of blessings!! Haha, it was super cute. She was so enthusiastic about life and then randomly said "Wahoo! Mormon.com!" I guess it is a new thing to say when you are stoked about life: YES, "MORMON.COM!"  Haha love this woman!

This week we were mega stoked because we had lots of people in the church. God is incredible. His blessings never end. The best thing was that we had a family that came to church and they are super happy to be there, and to read the Book of Mormon together. The wife has had problems with her husband, and has seen lots of changes in her family as we have gone to visit them. And as they read together the Book of Mormon, she has noticed the peace that they have in their home.

One last thing.  This week I ate "Chapulines" (some bugs)...and they were yummy! Look them up. 

[Editor Amy again. I took the liberty of 'looking up' chapulines for us all, jus fer fun.  And, you be the judge, but those things look far from 'yummy' to me. Bleck!  I think Meredith might be showing off just a  little bit with this one! Below is what my Google search/trusty wikipedia produced. Sweet dreams of chapuline eating tonight!: 

Chapulines, plural for chapulín ( tʃapu'lin (help. info)), are grasshoppers of the genus Sphenarium, that are commonly eaten in certain areas of Mexico. The term is specific to Mexico and Central America, and derives from the Nahuatl word chapolin [t͡ʃaˈpolin] (singular) or chapolimeh [t͡ʃapoˈlimeʔ] (plural).

Chapulines - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapulines

Hope you all have a more than fantastic week!

Oceans of love,

Hermana Barton

________________________________

From Meredith's letter to Mom:

This week I was studying a lot about Jesus Christ. And I love the scripture in 1 Nefi 21:15-16 that talks about how Jesus Christ always remembers us, and has us printed on His palms. It is amazing to think that a person, as perfect as He, has imperfections on His hands for us, for His love for us.  I was thinking about it yesterday in the sacrament, that He has us printed on His palms, and part of the prayer of the sacrament is to "always remember Him."  As we partake of the sacrament we can remember Him, and this sacrifice for us, and He is NEVER going to forget us. We make this covenant with God that we will always remember our Savior. I was also thinking about the Nefites that got to see Christ, and touch His palms and bathe His palms and feet, that are imperfect for us, with their tears. It is an incredible thing. As we partake of the sacrament, and remember Christ, we can make changes in our lives, and repent of our sins so that one day we can return to God, and be in His presence, and the presence of our Savior, and be able to touch His hands and feet and bathe them in our tears. But only if we always remember Him, and like our baptism covenant take His name upon us.... I hope you understand a little of what I am trying to say in my palabritas in English.  I think it makes more sense in my head in Spanish, but hope you can feel it a little. ...Te amo al maximo.

October 31, 2016: "Where you from?...Cincinnati?"

Random guy on Thursday morning yelled to me from his balcony in English: "Where you from?...Cincinnati?" Random and awesome. Duh, like anyone could even know that!  

This morning waking up, we had a little surprise.  We just had a trickle of water to wash our clothes, ourselves, and the house!  Oh well, or maybe better to do it all another day anyway. "Sometimes, when you're in Mexico, you wake up and you don't have water, jus fer fun" (Nacho Libre voice) Viva Mexico!!

This week was incredible. It is amazing that everyday, and every week, God has more and more blessings for us. We are working hard and finding lots of people. The only problem is that we can't get the people to go to church on Sunday... kind of a big deal. Ayer, we were a little frustrated, just slightly. But it was incredible to go to church, and feel peace during the sacrament. I came to understand that the fact that we didn't have people in the church wasn't a fault of faith, wasn't because we didn't deserve the blessings, or wasn't because God wasn't capable of having people go to church; it was because all in the time and will of God, that someday soon we would have people in the church. That I needed to be patient and accept the will of God. Sometimes, I think that we know that God has a will, but it is hard sometimes to have the sufficient faith to accept the will of God when it is to have more patience and wait, because God has something bigger and better planned ahead. 

This week I finished the Book of Mormon another time in Spanish, and started again. It is amazing, I have read the first part like a thousand times, but every time we learn something different, and every time we come to know more our Savior Jesus Christ. I hope you all have a fantastic week, and are able to read a few minutes this week in the Book of Mormon to know more your Savior and love Him.

Oceans of love from Nogales Mexico.

Hermana Barton

____________________

Part of Meredith's letter to Mom:

Last week I wanted to tell you about a woman I met named Margarita. She lives here, but about a year ago got out of prison in the US, because she had used a false identity. She had to leave her kids with her mom for 10 months to be in prison, and they are now traumados. 

She explained to me her experience there. She was baptized but had never really understood the atonement of Christ or Jose Smith. In her 10 months in the prison she read the scriptures, (what else to do?) and prayed, and really grew to understand the atonement of Christ. She shared some amazing things. One of the things I loved is that we talked about how after repentance, that when you look back on your sins or spiritual wounds, that the sadness and burden is gone!  You can still remember what happened, but the sadness is replaced with joy and happiness of what you could learn from the experience, with joy to really UNDERSTAND the atonement, not only know it exists. It is like Elder Bednar said in his talk, "Do we know about Jesus Christ, or do we know Him?"  It has been amazing to be here on the mission, read the BOM and really come to know Jesus Christ, because it is a testament of him.  Also to put in practice his atonement has really changed my life, to feel real and pure joy that Alma the younger explains in the BOM to his son. She told me about a book that she read that I want to read that is called: [La Continua Expiacion. por: Brad Wilcox]. Sounds awesome.  She shared some parts with me. It was a really neat experience.  And now the pobrecita is dealing with an alcoholic husband, but just knows that through the atonement that everything will work out. She is amazing. It was incredible to meet her in an intercambio with other hermanas.

Something funny is that the cheese here is SO good!  Hahaha yesterday an hermano shared some cheese and tortillas with us. And ummm... I can eat infinity of tacos with good Mexican queso.  I hope they sell something similar in the Mexican tiendas close to our house so that you can understand me!  hahaha

Te amo con todo mi corazon.

La Neffster and La Bomby Girl

Dogos with Valeria, her Grandma,and Uncle after a baptism we went to all together!

4 hour bus ride to Hermosillo for a leadership meeting always calls for pizza!

Hna Dickson, Elder Quero, Elder Martinez

Hna Martin y Hna Riquelme! Love and miss these girls so much!