Keep Hoping

Hello Everyone!

I hope you all had an absolutely wonderful Christmas, and I hope you haven´t stopped celebrating it. My Christmas was really nice. After a few problems with skype, I got to talk to my family yesterday. It was great to see them, and to know that I still speak English, almost. 

My companion and I also made our own little Christmas tree out of broomsticks, clothes hangers, a lot of duct tape, and some Liahona magazines. I tried to send some pictures, but this computer doesn´t seem to want to accept them, so maybe next week.

We also had a nice mission Christmas devotional last Thursday. It was the first chance we got to meet our newest mission president, President Urrea. So, after President and Hermana Titensor went back to Utah for cancer treatments, President and Hermana Garcia came to look after us for about a month and a half. During that time, the church was calling new mission presidents, most of whom will start next July. Well, President Urrea was called to be president of the Mexico City North mission, and he was informed that he would be starting as soon as possible, not in July. So they got as much as their life in order as they could in less than a month and arrived here about a week and a half ago. President and Hermana Urrea seem really really nice, and much more relaxed than President Garcia was. They are from Monterey.

One of the best parts of the Christmas devotional was when our three assistants to the President came out dressed as the three wise men and delivered to us our Christmas packages. They were impressive costumes. Again, hopefully I´ll be able to send pictures next week.

I was also glad to see that the assistants were ok, because right now their area is Tultepec. Tultepec is right next to my area. I could walk there in about 10 minutes. Some of you may have already heard what happened there this past Tuesday, my family already did. Hermana Morillón and I were eating some pambazos when we heard a number of loud bangs. Everyone started going outside to see what was going on and so we did too, and we saw a huge cloud rising just to the east of us. I honestly thought a bomb had gone off, and I wasn´t that far off. The core of the Tultepec economy is fireworks. One member told me that 80% of the fireworks in Mexico come out of Tultepec, and 40% of the fireworks in the world. I don´t know if that´s true, but the point is, they are crazy about fireworks here. There is a big marketplace that sells 100% fireworks. And somehow, on Tuesday, it all exploded. All of it. Literally tons of explosives. It was really really bad. And it was really scary too. I personally don´t know anyone who was there, but I have heard that well over 30 people are already dead, and a lot more are seriously injured. 

So please keep Tultepec in your prayers right now. 

It was really inspiring for me to see the care with which the people of Mexico responded. And the hope with which they were still able to celebrate this special Christmas season. Because that is really what Christmas is about: hope. 

So keep hoping. And keep believing. 

I love and miss you all!

Hermana Herron

Feliz Navidad!

Hola Everyone, y ¡FELIZ NAVIDAD!

Have I told you all about la familia Mendez yet? La mamá, Alejandra, was a referral from a member here in the ward. We went to visit her, and she was very receptive, but she told us that she wanted to learn more before we taught her family too. That was a few weeks ago. For a while we struggled to get lessons or to get her to church. But then, last week, her entire family came to church!!!!! And they all liked it a lot. Alejandra invited us over to eat Tuesday, and then Thursday we had another lesson, but this time with the entire family. And they are golden!!!! Alejandra´s husband is named Oscar, he´s a math teacher :) They have three children, two young women and a baby named Mateo. Alejandra has already been teaching her daughters and husband everything that we had already taught her, and Oscar gave the prayer at the end of our lesson, and it was so beautiful. They are the best.

So, if you didn´t already know, this Sunday is Christmas! It is not every day that we get to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ by partaking of the sacrament and remembering His suffering and sacrifice for us. I hope it makes your Christmas even more wonderful and special this year. 

I love this time of year. I love the lights and music and trees and presents and  all our traditions, especially here in Mexico. But much much more than all that, I love my Savior. We don´t celebrate Christmas for the presents or the commercialism or even for the general spirit of love and giving. And we don´t celebrate it because a baby was born either. We celebrate Christmas for who that baby was and is, for what He did and does, and because God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son. 

Ok, I don´t have any more time. Pero les deseo una feliz navidad. Les amo muchísimo.

-Hermana Herron

Tacos and Puppies

Hi friends!

I don´t have time this week, so I´ll just explain a few pictures.

First of all, last Monday, Innocencia and Bulmaro took us to eat some tacos. And they ordered some special ones for me to try. The taco on the left is tripa (intestine), the taco on the right is ojo (eyeball). They tasted exactly how they sound.

Also, Bulmaro has now come to church 4 times in a row!!!!! We are planning his baptism for the 24th, Christmas eve!

Second, Hermana Morillón and I saved a puppy this week. She was wandering in the street and looked like she already had a while living in the street. We asked a round a little and couldn´t find the owner, so we took her to Hermana Esther, who was more than happy to care for the little puppy. 

The work goes on here in Joyas, and we are doing our best to share the real message of hope and joy that belongs to this Christmas season, the message that is centered on our Savior Jesus Christ.

Love and miss you all!

Hermana Herron

Light the World

Hi everyone,

Well, this week was nice.... honestly all of the days and weeks have kinda blurred together.

Well, we have worked really hard here in this area, and one of the biggest problems we have been facing has been finding the time to visit all of the investigators we have that are progressing, help other investigators start to progress, and keep finding new investigators. Because our area is so big and there isn´t much transportation, it sometimes feels like we spend a lot more time walking than teaching. Well, the Lord answered our prayers in an unexpected way. This transfer we are going to be opening Joyas 1 and Joyas 2. Sister Morillón and I are going to be here in Joyas 2, which has the colonias Santa Elena, Joyas, and Villas, the zone leaders are going to arrive in Joyas 2, which is the rest of the area. I´m a little sad about losing half of the people that we´re teaching, but I know that it´s better this way, because all the people here deserve more time than we can give them. I´ve never shared a ward with another companionship before, so it should be fun. 

Ok, next thing, this week we started the new Christmas Initiative, Ilumina el munda.... Dejenme checar como es en ingles..... Light the World. And it is super beautiful. If you have not yet heard about it or seen the video, go to mormon.org right now and click on the first thing you see. And then decide what you are going to do this Christmas season to follow the example of our Savior and light the world. There are ideas on mormon.org of things you can do everyday, but choose at least one thing. 

Also, if you didn´t get a chance to see the Christmas devotional last night, please see it. And cheer every time you see a French horn for me. 

With the initiative and the Christmas devotional and the new Christmas season we´re entering, I´ve been thinking a lot about Christ. Even more than normal. Nothing I do as a missionary has any meaning without Christ. I am one of His representatives, and I have the opportunity everyday to testify of Him. But it also surprised me when I first got here in the mission how many menial things we do as well, like filling out forms and calling a million people on the phone everyday and looking for members to accompany us and things like that. If we do the normal everyday things just because we have to do them, it´s rather boring and routine. But if I do it because I love my Savior, because I want to serve Him, with my eye single to the glory of God, then this becomes the most amazing work and the most amazing life ever. 

So, dedicate a few moments today to the Savior. And a few minutes tomorrow, and the next day and the next.... For those of you who are members of the church, you have covenanted to always remember Christ. I challenge you to try a little more to keep that covenant.

I love you all. Thank you so much for your support and your prayers.

Hermana Herron