6 Months in the Mission! and... Superbowl Sunday in Mexico...

We woke pretty early to get to the temple. Totally worth it! Here we are right before going into the temple.

Here we are coming out of the temple. It's such a beautiful temple!  So grateful to go with Hermana Michelli for her very first time! 

I got to go on exchanges with Hermana Smith. We visited this sweet investigator and learned how to make tamales!

Just feelin' silly?

This was taken from the skywalk.

I´m sure the first thing you want to hear about is the temple. We ended up getting to go and I got to do all of the 5 baptisms. It was such a great experience going into that temple. So many times I’ve been outside of it not being allowed to go in because of the rules we have here, but it really was so special! We woke up at 3:45 and the Hermana came and picked us up and we went and it was so fun to be able to go with her for her first time ever in the temple. It was so peaceful, just what I needed. We got to watch others get baptized first and Hermana Michelli was getting so nervous and we made her go first so we could both watch her! Ha-ha! She was able to find her grandma’s information and go and do her name. It really was so neat seeing how excited she was about doing her work for her grandmother. You really can feel the spirit there like nowhere else. If I could, I would go in everyday! I feel kind of guilty that I lived in a city right before my mission with a temple 3 minutes away from my house, and I didn’t sacrifice more time to go in. Well I’ve really learned my lesson and I hope that you will all continue to go in as much as you can!

On Wednesday I was able to leave my area for the first time since I’ve been here! We had interexchanges (sorry I don’t know what you call it in English) but I went to a different area for two days with a different Hermana, the sister training leaders. It was a great experience for me to get to go out and see how other areas work, and learn from how others teach. So that first day we went to go eat with these new converts. Long story short, we ate Xix. That is basically fried pig fat with all of the left over parts of the pig. Well, everything but the meat.  I was choking that food down. It was the hardest thing I have ever eaten here. But we both got through it and it was hard. I was very proud of my stomach for not getting sick, so that was a big win for the week! That night we went over to one of her investigator’s house and learned how to make tamales! It was super fun; we made the tortillas and everything. It was a super neat experience! 

Yesterday was a pretty American day for us. We went to one of our investigator’s house and were yelling for them, but the husband and daughter were glued to the TV and yelling at it. We didn’t know what was going on, but then the mom came out and we were talking to her. She was saying that there was a game on, but we didn’t think anything of it at all. Then we just kept on talking and soon found out that it was super bowl Sunday and we both started freaking out a little bit. We went inside and saw who was playing then we had to leave really fast because it was half time and that one singer was on and she started singing so we really had to leave, ha-ha! Sorry I don’t remember her name at the moment but I’m sure you all know! Anyway, then later that night we went to go contact one of our references, and then ended up teaching her a lesson in English. It was probably one of the hardest things ever to talk and teach about the gospel in English! She knows English and wanted us to talk in English so we agreed. At the end we got rejected pretty hard, but it was still an interesting experience.  She has a Book of Mormon now so we kind of just left her with the choice to read it and pray. 

From everything this past week I’ve taken a lot away from it. It’s been a pretty bumpy first six months here. Not everything has happened the way I thought or hoped it would, but I’ve learned that it’s just part of my plan. We do all that we can, we work as hard as we can; we pray as hard as we can, we do everything possible. Maybe it doesn’t work out how we want it, when we want it, but it’s all in the Lord’s timing. It comes with patience with the Lord's time, faith in his power, and hope that you can accept whatever he gives you. If anything, I have learned how to be patient with the Lord. I don’t always get what I want, but what I need. Sometimes it’s hard to accept what we are given in this life, but it’s all for a reason and we know that we can handle it, because we have Him. I know everyone has their thing. Their burden every day. I have learned that it is possible to overcome any hardship, any wrong doing, and any sin, all through the atonement of Christ. Thanks to him we have the ability to feel happiness. We have someone that feels our heartaches. He suffered for us so we wouldn’t have to. He loves us enough to listen to our problems, and he is always there to help. Pray when you’re sad, mad, frustrated, and even more so when you’re happy. We can be grateful for the trials we have, because we are the ones who get to experience them and grow from them. Think of your trials as a gift from God. 

Yo estoy muy agradecido por todo se ustedes. Yo se que podemos simple sentir la amor se nuestro padre cada día, cada momento si quedemos. Yo se que esta evangelio es verdadera. Yo se que nosotros tenemos dificultades para nosotros a aprender, y progresar en esta vida. Nosotros tenemos la poder de Dios, si tenemos la fe en el. Gracias por nuestro hermano nosotros tenemos la oportunidad a recibir la perdón de nuestro pecados. Yo se que podemos vivir con nuestro familia por la eternidad en la presencia de Dios, y nuestro hermano Jesucristo. Gracias por todo familia, por su oraciones, y por su apoyo!   

Con muchísimas amor

-Hermana Velasquez