A Walking Popsicle

What a week!  Last Tuesday night I arrived here in Comitan.  After an 8 hour bus ride I was excited to arrive!  I met my companion and we took a taxi to the apartment where we live.  We then carried my luggage (half the house with the kitchen sink) up 4 flights of stairs to our room.  The next morning we went out to proselyte.  It is quite an adjustment coming from Cacahoatan to Comitan. When I first got my mission call, I read "Mexico" and thought to myself, "o.k., tropical, hot and humid," which is what I packed for.  In Cacahoatan that is the case, the temperature all day everyday is up in the high 90's.  However, Comitan is the exact opposite.  I have been a walking Popsicle since I got here!

The entire city here is one big hill.  There isn't any flat ground, it is either straight up or straight down.  There are several investigators we have that we literally have to hike to get to their houses. I've had so many sore muscles in my legs that I didn't even know existed.  My body is quite confused with the weather change.  Because I was in an area where it was 96 degrees outside Christmas day my mind didn't fully capture the fact that it was Christmas.  But now that I am in an area where it is cold it feels like Christmas season.  I'm patiently waiting for the Christmas carolers to come knocking at our door:)

My companion's name is Hermana Gruerrero.  She is from Ecuador and has 10 months in the mission.  She's a great missionary and we work well together.  In the short time we have been companions I have already learned a lot from her.

The apartment we live in is gigantic compared to our house in Cacahoatan.  It has 5 bedrooms and a bathroom.  It does not however have any hot water.  But because it is so cold in the mornings we can't shower with the cold water or we will get hypothermia.  So each morning we fill up a bucket of water and put a hot metal rod in it to heat the water.  Once it is hot we put the bucket into the shower and that is what we use to shower with.  It's quite the experience, it makes me feel like I am camping.:)

The best part of the week was yesterday when we had the privilege of seeing a little girl named Vicky who we have been teaching be baptized.  It was such a beautiful experience!  Her mother is a member but has been inactive for quite some time now.  The missionaries found her and helped her to re-activate in the church.  After Vicky's baptism yesterday her mother said she felt something so beautiful inside that she hasn't felt for such a long time, she felt the spirit.
After her baptism Vicky bore her testimony and shared her experience and how she felt.  Though it was so simple her words touched the hearts of all who were there.  I'm so grateful I was able to be there.  My testimony was strengthened immensely.

Love, Hermana Peine

Transfers!

Hola!

Today has been crazy and I don't have much time at all to write, but I'll try to do my best to update you guys.  This morning we had transfers...I'm getting transferred.  It is a hard change to make.  I truly love the people and the area as if it was my own.  It was hard to say goodbye but hard things are what build us.  I am getting transferred to an area called Comitan, which is about 8 hours away from where I am now.  I leave tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.  Though it is hard I am excited to see what the Lord has prepared for me.

On Saturday Hugo was baptized.  We are so proud of him for all he has overcome to get to this point.  He is very large and we were a bit worried about how it would all work out and if we would be able to get all of him under water or not.  But I'm happy to say it was a success.  In only two attempts Elder Stephens was able to baptize.  The Lord truly works miracles!

Well I think that's about all I have time for this week.  I sure love you guys, thanks for all your support. I'll send lots of pictures from my new area.  I've heard it's pretty cold so I'll do my best not to freeze to death.

Have a great week!

Love, Hermana Peine

Baptisms

What a week!  We have been teaching an investigator who is learning English and wants me to teach in English as much as possible.  I never thought I would feel so uncomfortable and have such difficulty trying to talk in English, but holy cow is it hard!  Though English may be my primary language, my primary missionary language is espanol.  I have learned all the lessons in espanol from the very start and holy cow is it difficult to suddenly switch to English.  The best example I can think of is when a right hand dominate person breaks their arm and suddenly has to use their left hand to do everything.  Everything is suddenly upside down and backwards, it's awesome=)

This Saturday was so great, we got to see 3 baptisms in the ward.  2 investigators from our area were baptized and are from the area of the other hermanas.  Yoni and Gonzalo were both baptized.  We are so proud of both of them, it has been such a beautiful opportunity to watch them grow and progress in the gospel.  Yoni comes from a family of 12.  His older brother Carlos was baptized a little over 2 years ago and he is now finishing his papers to go on a mission.  Yoni's little brother Victor was also recently baptized about a month ago making them 3 the only members in their family...so far.  We have lots of big plans for their family=)  Gonzalo, the other investigator who was recently baptized comes from a less active family who is beginning to re-activate themselves in the church once again. His older sister Ana was recently baptized and is a great example to him.  Together they are a great motivation to their family to become active.

This week I have been studying a lot in the general conference talks from this past general conference.  They are so great!  Every time I read them I have a renewed testimony of the power and authority the prophet and his apostles truly have on the earth.  "What I the Lord have spoken...whether by my own voice or by the voice of my servants it is the same."  D&C 1:38.  God may not come down and speak to us face to face, he speaks to us through the voice of his prophets and through the scriptures.  As President Dieter F. Uchtdorf states in his talk, "Receiving a testimony of light and truth; "The answers to your prayers will come in His own way and in His own time, and therefore, you need to learn to listen to his voice."  Aren't conference talks the best!

Well I hope you all have a great week.  I invite you all to read the talks from this past general conference.  They are powerful and through them God can speak to you personally.

I love you guys.

Love, Hermana Peine

Pig Hooves on New Year's Eve

Happy New Year!  Though the calendar may say it is 2015 I'm still not convinced.  This year went by way to fast.

For New Years Eve dinner we ate at a member's house named Hermana Diznarda.  We had what is called Cochito, which is a full pig cooked and laid out on a pig pan for us to eat.  Included were the 4 hooves of the pig (pig feet) roasted and ready for us to eat.  As I saw the pig hooves laid out on the tray I made the mistake of saying, "We're not actually going to eat that are we?"  Thinking they were just there for decoration.  Everyone was baffled at the fact that I have never eaten pig feet before and assured me that was the best part.  To my surprise, we did eat them.  Silly me thinking eating pig feet wasn't normal:)

During the week we had a pleasant surprise when the power suddenly went out.  Hermana Canul was in the middle of showering when the lights suddenly went out along with the hot water.  Our shower is heated electrically so when the power went out the water suddenly turned very cold.  My companion wasn't too extremely excited about that.
The bishop came and fixed the light temporarily so we can have power but we still are not able to use the shower head.  So the past few days we have been showering with a bucket.  Oh the adventures we experience here in the mission.

This week we also had the wonderful opportunity of giving service.  While waiting for a little boy we had planned to teach we were able to give service.  The little boy had left to bathe in a river nearby so while we waited for him to come back we helped his two elderly grandparents move loads of fire wood they had laid out to dry.  When we had finished the elderly man took off on his bicycle cart and returned with a big bottle of soda to share with us for our efforts.  They were so grateful for the little amount of service we gave.  Though they have next to nothing they wanted to show their gratitude and did so with the little money they had.  It was a very humbling experience for me.  I have learned a lot from the people here.  Though they don't have much they are willing to give us all they do have.

This week I have been thinking a lot about being the Lord's servant.  By serving others we are serving the Lord.  I have come to realize that those strangers all around me in the street are not strangers at all, but they are children of our father in Heaven, our brothers and sisters in need of our help.  "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God"  Mosiah 2:17.  Love, Hermana Peine