Huatabampo Round Four

That's right y'all, I'm stayign in Huatabpamp for yet another transfer and get to be with Hermana Salas still! 

It's beena good week here, if not a crazy one. I didn't think as a misionary I would travel so much in a week, but in this past week We've been to Navojoa twice, then we made a (slightly exaughsting) round trip to Hermosillo in a day and half with a sixish hour bus ride both ways. But we packed snacks and books and the bus played Moana, so it was a good trip despite the length. ad this week, we gat to travel to Obregón because Elder Pingree, a member of the quorom of the seventy is goign to visit and so we're going out to Obregón to have giatn three zne conference! It's a lot of buses, but it's been super awesome. And I'm really excited to hear a member of the Seventy speak so I'll tell you ll about that next week. 

 

Back to focusing on this past week, I have tryign to put even more in practice talking to everyone literally everyone we meet and it's been really interesting and as a result I've had more dogs try to bite me than ever, but super worth it because I've gotten to talk to soem really awesoem people. Before we headed out to Hermosillo, and becasue it cut out a day and a half that we had to serve in our area, we were seriously debatign wheather we should do our weekly planning a day before or head out and cntact for about an hour before we had to get to the bus station and we felt like we needed to contact. I've been havign Hermana Salas take the lead in biking when I realized that she was even worse at directions thn I am (or I have potentially gotten bout 97% better about my ability to maintain spacial orientation and remeber how to get places) so she's been directing us so she can learn the area better. We pulled off into a side street kind of close to the church, and started knocking doors and talking to some of the people who were outside walking. It was gettign close to when we needed to go when I saw that a man was standgn in frotn of his house watcing us, and my first thought (because there was a giant wall painted with a very religious slogan whcih usuallly indicates there a small christian church nearby) that's probabaly thre pastor of the chruch and he's probabaly wondering why the heck there are two young women trying to preach in the street in front of my church and I've accidentally contacted pastors before and also the father of the Father in the local catholic church here in Huatabampo and they're not excactly my favorite experiences and ones I'm super anxious to repeat. But the phrase from Preach My Gospel popped into my head "Hable con TODOS" and I thought, bueno, if he's the pastor the worst thign he'll do is try to sontend with us or tell us to get out of his street and so we went and tlaked to him. He told us that he had watched us for this time and was praying that we would stop and talkto him as well. he told us he had listened to the misionaries about four or so years ago and had gone to church, but couldn't leave behind his drug habit and well, stopped investigating the church. With a giant smile, he then tld us tht he had been drug and alcohol free for several months and that he would absolutely love to talk to us again. Another peice of good news - he is not pastor and was a very nice person.

I have been fidign more and more in my mission that Satan works through fear tactics to stop us from doing the right thing especially with missionaries and with faithful members of The Church. He knows in this type of moment that if he can intimidate us, he can stop us from some small act that can lead to sometign wonderful. That's the way he works, that's the way he convinced a third of the hosts of heaven to follow him by using fear and sayign things like "you can't do it, why are you even here, he'll never respond favoably to that, there is no way you  can get back to God and there is no way you can contributew to God's kingdom. We can't listen to him. No lo hagan caso. Because when we listen, we open the door and just a faith and love cast out fear - fear casts out faith and love. 

I love you all so much and I wnat to leave you with my testimony that I know this Church is true and is lead by a true and living prophet who leads and guides us in the paths of righteousness and that I have a responsibily to share this testimony with the whole world because the scriptures teach us that If we have been warned, we much warn our neighbor and who is our neighbor? Jesus Christ taught us through thte parable of the good smaritan that our neighbor is everyone we com in contact with. And I'm not her in Mexico just out of responsibily, I'm here because I am a daughter of God who loves me and these people are His children too. I cannot leave my brothers at the wayside because the deserve to walk to path of righteousness as well. I love being a missionary and I am so glad He has helped through every single moment here and has let me a tool in His hnd and to see so many miracles. 

I love you all and I invite you all to come unot Christ and be perfected in Him nad invite everyone else in your pathas well,

Com mi amor eterno,

Hermana Rawlings

Pictures-

Junta de Nuevos aka Sleepover in the apartments behind the mission home :)