December 26, 2016 "The Day after the Christmas Phone Call"

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! It was so great to be able to see and talk with you guys! Everyone is growing up so fast its crazy!

Guadalajara Temple

Christmas Morning

 I'll do my best to try and update you guys about this week and maybe somethings I forgot to say yesterday! This week we actually had a lot of success even with the holidays. We were able to teach Elsa a few times this week! I think our biggest success with her is that we were able to have her kids come and sit down and listen to the lessons too. We were able to invite both her kids to be baptized with Elsa on  the 21st of January! We read the Book of Mormon with them at our last visit and it went really well. Everyone was able to participate and the kids had questions too. With Karen we were able to reteach lesson 2 and we left her with the homework to find the people she wants to talk at her baptism. It was super cute cause she started sending texts to the people she wants to speak at her baptism. She is super excited! We actually had a great miracle on Sunday! 

With it only being an hour of church we, of course, were really worried that nobody was going to go.... and really the attendance was a little lower than usual but we had the most less actives come yesterday to church then I have had my whole time here in Guadalajara! Such a tender mercy (:As a Zone on Friday we were able to go sing in the mall! We went and sang Christmas songs in Spanish and in English and we actually got a lot of peoples' attention and we made a ton of contacts with everyone doing their last minute shopping! Here in Mexico all the fun of Christmas is the 24th. We did not have any plans this day and we were super worried that we were gonna be stuck in the street all day doing nothing. So before we left the house we said a prayer that somebody would invite us in to spend some time with them haha. And the first house we went to was super happy we were there and invited us to help them make pies!I know it probably sounds silly but it really was such and answer to our prayer! Then this family invited us to eat with them too (: I told my family about this yesterday but my testimony of prayer has really been strengthened these last few weeks. God really is there listening to our prayers we just have to have the faith that he will answer and he will. On Christmas we had a very good busy day! We opened our packages, went to church, ate at a member's house and the we got invited to go to our president's house and have a small little Christmas celebration.

I love our Mission President!

It really is such a special thing to be around so many missionaries on Christmas! There is nothing else like it! (: Again I hope you all had a great Christmas and ill talk to you next week!

Awesome tanlines!

12 Days of Christmas

December 19, 2016 "So Many Miracles, Just in Time for Christmas!"

This week we have seen a ton of Miracles! First we were able to have our Mission Christmas party on Tuesday. We had 2 zones come together... there were 68 missionaries in one church. It was super fun. Each Zone was able to put on a small skit.My Zone (Union) danced and lip sang to one of the Christmas songs that the assistants picked. We ended up splitting into groups and each group had to make little decorations and plan how they we were gonna act out our part. It turned out pretty good and funny (: You guys can see the video when i get home haha.

Then on Saturday we had our ward Christmas party and you guys wont believe it.... we had 8 Investigators come!!! My comp and I were running around like crazy people introducing our investigators to the members. One of our new investigators is named Elsa and has 4 kids. We have only been teaching her for about 2 weeks now but she came with all her kids and I think the cutest thing we saw was how the kids in the ward made sure that the kids of hna. Elsa felt included. Some of the members were shy to try and be friends with our investigators but the best example we saw of missionary work was of the kids in the ward! Our recent convert Ximena has been a member for almost 2 months now and never left the side of one of the kids of hna Elsa. They were also able to come to church!

We got her kids all put into their classes and after we were able to talk to them and they said they really liked their classes! My comp and I heard Elsa's little boy ask her if they could come back to church tomorrow too (: She had to sadly tell him that he had to wait a week to come back to church (: She has a baptismal date for the 21st of January! We are gonna work with her kids too so they can all be baptized together! She has family members that are members of the church and has assisted before in other areas. She told us the other day that she wants her kids to grow up with the values that the church has and that she knows this gospel can help her have a better life! Keep her close in your prayers (: We finished Karen's lessons this last week!!! We are now just going to do an overview of the first three lessons because she received these lessons back in August. Her baptism will be on the 7th! It has been an amazing week for us. We have been able to have some really powerful lessons filled with the spirit and for this I am so incredibly grateful. Thursday and Friday we were able to have some muertos ( people that are finishing their missions) in our house.

And it made me realize how quickly the mission really does just fly by. I am at a point right now that I can't even see myself going home,  It feels like I've been in the mission forever but at the same time the months have flown by. I am so grateful God called me to be a missionary and even more that I am able to be here in Mexico. I have such a strong testimony of missionary work. It really does change lives. I love you all and hope you have an amazing Christmas! I can't wait to see and talk to you guys on Sunday!!! (:

-- con amor

Hermana Acor 

Mexico celebrating Mary's Birthday

12 days of Christmas presents from home

April 25, 2016 "SAY WHAT SIX MONTHS?!"

Well its official I’ve been in the mission 6 months... I still feel like I’m the new gringa! haha. Well this week has for sure been one of learning and growing... that’s the positive way to put it. My comp is incredibly nice and sweet and is a really powerful teacher but WOW living with someone else is so WEIRD! Not to mention the solo español. I cannot believe how much I have learned this week not only in my Spanish but also how to be a more self-sufficient missionary. Obviously, Hna Cirne doesn’t know this area only I do so I’ve had to take the lead and remember where all our less actives and investigators live... I’m not gonna lie the first few days I was so incredibly stressed out. I’ve never really taken control of the lessons and been the one to keep the lessons going that had always been Hna Muro and really I was ok with it. But since Hna Cirne doesn’t know the people it was all of a sudden my job. Wow, was I scared my first few times! But really just about 3 days of doing it and it already feels natural! We haven’t had any real problems with the language which has helped me see how much I really know. I am far from perfect but I can basically understand everything and express myself pretty well... in only 6 months I have this confidence with the language. The gift of tongues is real.

We had the great opportunity on Friday for a Conference with just the Hermanas in all the mission in Guadalajara.  Wow, I totally needed this conference at this time. It was a great break and so spiritually uplifting. All the hermanas from Santiago, Tepic and Vallarta all stayed in the offices for 2 nights. Needless to say nobody slept but it was crazy fun to be with every Hermana!

The Hermanas from Tepic, Vallarta and Santiago on our way to a
special mission Women's Conference

The conference was adorable, Hna Clayton ( the pres’s wife ) talked about the women from the scriptures and how we can apply their attributes in our life. And we had Krispy Kreme doughnuts for breakfast (: AND Olive Garden for lunch! Also not to mention all the girly treats we got during the conference. The sister trainers taught lessons on how to better study, exercise and eat. It’s kind of crazy that all the hermanas in the whole mission where in the same room at the same time! And even crazier to look around the room knowing that one of them could be your next companion. Of course I was also able to see Hermana Muro again after like 3 days... it’s weird from going from every second of everyday together and then none... It was nice to see her! She brought me some letters that people had sent to the bishop’s house when I was in Vallarta! I got one from the Watsons! That was signed by some members of the ward although it was for Christmas it was still nice to get it even late!

This week has been a little slow with teaching because we had transfers and almost 3 days of no teaching due to the Women’s conference. Our investigator Isais was sick this last Sunday so have to push back his baptism, but we haven’t finished teaching the lessons to him so it worked out. For a few days he hadn’t been answering our calls and I was super scared that he didn’t want to be taught anymore. Then he called and we made plans to visit with him again. Huge relief! Andrea our recent convert is still the best and adorable. We will be working hard this week to find more people to teach and I’m sure we will get more organized as Hna Cirne and I have more time together.

Service project on our P-day helping to clean up a yard, trash etc.

I ALMOST FORGOT!! I received the package you guys sent me! It got her super quick! I know I’ve said it before but not joke getting a package is like the best thing ever! Not to mention the candy the notes, clothes, cute quotes that were in the package are all perfect, thank you, thank you! And I LOVE all the church music it is seriously perfect and a ton I’m really impressed! Again thank you. Listening to the same 10 songs was starting to get on my nerves J ! I love you guys that’s all I got this week! Know you are always in my prayers and I can’t wait to talk to you on May 8th!!!   

-- con amor

Hermana Acor 

April 18, 2016 "A New Companion and 'solo espanol'!"

Well the day has finally come.... Hna Muro and I are no longer companions): But my new comp is so cute and way nice. I mean I’ve known her for about 3 hours but it’s been a good time so far! She is from Puebla, Mexico and guess what.... she doesn’t speak annyyy English. My days of solo Española have started.

My new companion!

I’m not worried though. I have been doing really good with my Spanish on divisions and I can express myself and I know Hermana Cirne is what i need right now. I know our mission President was inspired to have us together. She has only 2 transfers left so she knows a lot and she has had American companions before so she knows how it is (:

This week has been a very spiritual week. Our investigator Isais, has his baptism date for the 30th of April! Our lessons with him this last week have been some of the most spiritual I have had in my whole mission. Always after our lessons with him the members who help us teach talk about how strongly they could feel the spirit. It’s really amazing. And not to mention he came to church this last Sunday!!! AND he had many spiritual experiences throughout the services. He really is so amazing.

With our new convert Andrea, before going out to teach

Andrea, our recent convert,has been awesome this last week. We have even taken her to make visits with us. We have another investigator who is 26 and really is another awesome one. He actually lived in Springville for 6 months working with his cousin! It was so weird to talk to him and I told him about where we live and he knew where everything was and mentioned all the stores and restaurants, it was so weird! But he knows a lot about Mormons and wants to keep learning more. He read the BOM and even had questions he prepared to ask us about what he had read! The only problem is he works Saturday and Sunday. He is a radiologist.... he is finishing his service hours so hopefully we can help him gain a testimony so he will have more of a desire to go to church and work it into his schedule. But with Andrea, she has loved making visits with us and she shares her testimony and it’s all so awesome! She even says things like “well when I go on a mission”.... ahhh it would be so cool if she decided to go! Since Andrea’s baptism her family has started to show an interest in being taught. Her mom even invited us to go eat on Tuesday with her! She asked us a bunch of question about the church. I think she will soon be a future investigator (:

Mystery Bus! :)

This last week we have been telling our investigators and less actives about transfers and so many shared with us how truly grateful they are for us and some even cried at the thought of us leaving. When they were sharing with us their feelings I could really feel how much they loved us. We left many houses crying because of the love we had felt. Maybe that sounds weird but really this ward and this area have my heart, I love everyone and everything here. I’m so grateful I have a least one more transfer here! I love you all and I hope you all have an amazing week! I can’t wait to hear about it! (: 

-- Con MUCHO amor 

Hermana Acor 

Pie in Spanish is "Pay" !!

By a cocoa tree

April 11, 2016 "Friday Andrea Was Baptized!!

So much has happened this week I don’t even know where to start! As far as all the drama with my stomach... I spent about 5 hours in the hospital on Monday. The Doctor said that my problem is with the food here in Mexico. To say it simply my intestines aren’t working like they should.  

They were causing me a lot of pain and making my stomach swell. So to solve this problem the dr’s were going to give me an IV to help clean out my system and help me get rehydrated. But of course while they were putting in the IV, I passed out.... its official I’m scared of my own blood. Remember when I got my wisdom teeth out and I passed out when I was changing the gauze? Well I guess it really was because of the blood. Ha poor Hna Muro I was holding her hand cause you all know how much I hate needles and she said I looked at them putting in the IV, I did a little weird body twitch, went totally white and passed out. When I woke up I had no idea what had happened. You know in the movies how they have people who wake up in hospitals with the lights super bright and like 5 doctors standing over them? I had one of those moments and it was the weirdest thing! After that I didn’t have any other problems other than feeling sick to my stomach. They put different fluids in my IV and gave me food. After the 5 hours I was tired, they sent me with a bunch of medicine and I slept great.

I haven’t had any pains for about 3 days now so they medicine is working! I had also asked my Zone Leader Elder Brough to give me a blessing and really after the blessing is when I started to feel better. He did a really good job. It was a powerful blessing and he promised that as long as I say working hard I won’t be have any problems so there is more motivation to keep working!

Friday Andrea was baptized!! Everything went reallllly well! We got everything ready Friday morning with the help of the Elders. Everyone showed up more or less on time. Andrea was so excited and visited a lot of her friends and family! But of course something had to go wrong.... the Elders had put the water boiler on and the water was really hot.. so she was having a hard time getting in the font. Ha after when we went to go help her we apologized about the water because really we felt sooooo bad but she just laughed and said it wasn’t important. She was all smiles and so happy to just be baptized, it was adorable! She made us all feel so much better. We actually spent our Pday with Andrea today!

There is a cute bus here that takes you around Tepic and so we invited her to come with us and it was super fun! Not to mention in the morning Hna Valdivia gave us breakfast! She made us crepes and eggs and it was the best breakfast I’ve had in the mission so far (: Hna Valdivia is the best!

I don’t know if you guys remember our investigator Isais, He is about 65 and his a Greek Philosophy teacher so our lessons can be pretty exhausting sometimes. He’s super smart and naturally asks a TON of questions. It’s been hard because he feels he can’t be baptized until he understands everything and that’s just not going to happen. BUT this last lesson we taught him on Saturday he told us that he was done asking questions, he just wants to live the gospel and be baptized! Is that not crazy or what?! We still need to finish teaching the lessons and he needs to come to church 2 more times but the fact that he said that is a huge step! 

Sunday was the confirmation of Andrea and it was all so perfect! She had her family there supporting her even though they aren’t members, she does have 2 cousins and an aunt that are. It was a really pretty blessing they gave her and it’s something I will always remember (:

Oh I did get letters from home this last week! One from Grandpa from the end of February... I love what he shared with me, please tell him that! And one from all the fam at a family home evening! It is funny because the sister trainers brought them to me while I was in the hospital, just kinda funny I was reading letters while in a hospital bed but what a perfect time to get them! We also had zone conference Tuesday! It was great I don’t have time to say much about it sorry! I love you guys so much and I’m so grateful for all of your prayers! Have an amazing week! 

-- con amor

Hermana Acor 

April 4, 2016 "Pres. Monson Was Inspired to Talk About Choices and Their Importance."

Hola Mis Amigos! Como esta? This week has been a pretty good one minus somedays I had to stay home due to stomach pains... ( I’ll be going to the doctor today to try and figure out what’s going on) And not to mention CONFERENCE!

Hna. Muro and I are matching today!

Watching conference as a missionary has a whole new perspective. I really do understand so much more about this gospel and God’s plan for all of us. Before Conference Hna Muro and I took the challenge and wrote down questions that we wanted answers too for ourselves and for the people we are teaching. Every single thing I had a question on was answered and I received so much guidance for how we can better teach our investigators and less actives. Isn’t conference amazing!

All the English speakers in a room watching conference.

Although Pres. Monson only spoke for a short time I think that makes it all the more powerful. He knew he had only a few minutes to share a message and he was inspired to talk about choices and their importance. I couldn’t agree with him more. In the mission I have seen more and more how easy it really is for people to fall way from the church without them ever really knowing why.(really)  It all starts with our choices. Sometimes maybe we say we will read our scriptures tomorrow, then it’s we will pray tomorrow, then it’s we will go to church next week and then little by little we aren’t as strong of members of the church as we use to be. Our choices really do matter, so make the choice today to forever and always follow Christ and his commandments and you will never go astray. (: 

Quick lunch between sessions. Notice the caramel
this is how they eat cookies, by dipping them in the sauce.

Tuesday we had Divisions with our sister trainer leaders! We had to go to Santiago, the hottest place in the whole mission, to meet them for divisions. Honestly, divisions are the best. You get to see what other people’s area is like, meet new people and not to mention how other missionaries do things. This time I was with Hna. Otazu. Shes the perfect sister trainer leader and she teaches with so much power, she’s from Paraguay.

This past week we have been teaching a man named Ruben. I told you he owns the bakery. We have been able to teach him a few times this past week. It’s really interesting to teach him. He has really different beliefs and almost after every point of a lesson he just shakes his head and says “no that’s not the way it is” and goes on the tell us what he thinks and why we are wrong, ha, but he always wants us to come back and he likes going to church. We will keep working with him. We also had a really big break through with a less active family. Ana and Jose. They are some of the nicest people I have ever met. They love to have us come visit and teach them. Yesterday we taught more about the restoration and didn’t get too much feedback from them, but once Hermana muro started talking about temples and how we can be sealed to our families forever, Ana was really interested. She ALWAYS talks about her cute little boy that passed away a few years ago at 2 years old. She hadn’t been taught about temples in a while and really become all ears after we brought up temples. Now we know what we can teach them to help bring them back (:

Andrea continues to prepare for her BAPTISM! We have been getting everything put together and planning so everything will go smoothly. I’ve never been able to teach the last few lessons before and I have to say they are my favorite. We get to talk about temples, eternal marriage, family history and all that fun stuff! Don’t get me wrong I love all the other lessons but we just don’t get to teach these ones as much! She will be getting baptized on the 8th (:

We have transfers this Sunday, so who knows what will happen! Either way I’m extremely grateful for my time with Hna Muro and my time here in Tepic. I know this church is true and I love it will all my heart! I hope you all have an amazing week! 

-- con amor

Hermana Acor 

March 28, 2016 "This week I got some Christmas letters!"

This week I got some Christmas letters!! haha I got one from the Gammells ( super adorable ) one from Grandma Betty, a card from Grandpa Acor ( one finally got to me!) and the calendar that Shelly and Bryant sent ( which I’ve looked at probably 100 times, I miss you guys!) Not to mention I got a big packet of family history stories from Elder Pieper! I have been reading them all this last week (: And you know now that I’m reading these stories there are things I’ve heard of or heard grandma talk about before! We have some amazing family history!

Yesterday was my favorite Sunday in the mission so far. Some members told us it was day light savings but it actually wasn’t so only us 4 sisters were at church with what we thought was the right time but no... So we practiced a song all together to sing in sacrament. We sang “Oh Mi Padre” to the tune of “Come Thou Fount.”  It sounds really pretty. And not to mention we had TWO investigators in church! I could cry. One was Andrea Arellano. Offically yesterday she decided her baptism will be April 8th at 11am!! Ah Hna Muro and I are soo excited. We will be keeping a close eye on her these next few days and teaching lots. The other was a man named Ruben we  met him a few days ago. We only had time to teach the first two points of lesson one and he still came to church! That never happens. We meet with him later Sunday and he told us that of all the churches he’s ever been to he like ours the most and he even was talking about taking his kids in the next two weeks! We haven’t been able to sit down and teach a full lesson but sometime this week! Oh and did i mention he owns a panaderia? (aka free treats)  And then in sacrament Hna. Valdivia talked and she always does an amazing job and makes us all cry. She talked about how grateful she is for all the missionaries and how amazing the work we are doing is... she’s my favorite and I can understand her Spanish perfectly wahoooo! Hna Muro and i taught the gospel principles class this Sunday too and it went really well! This class is for all the investigators and less actives that come to church. It went a lot better than the first time we taught when we first got here. The Women’s Conference was ok for me... it was only in Spanish but if I listened really closely I could hear the English quietly in the back haha. With that said mom could you send me a file where I could print off Henry B. Eyring’s talk? And maybe one of your other favorites? Don’t worry for conference they will have a room for us English speakers to watch! 

Tomorrow we have divisions with our sister trainers in Santiago! Santiago is the hottest place in the whole mission so we will see how that goes... I don’t have much else to say about this week but I love and miss you guys! Until next week (:  

-- con mucho amor 

Hermana Acor