Final Report

Hola hola,

Well..... this is going to be my last email from Mexico. My 18 months have come to an end ridiculously, unbelievable fast. This Wednesday I fly back home. 

I´ve been trying to think of what I would write in this email. It´s hard to put into one email all the thoughts and emotions I have had recently, but I´ll do my best. 

This time I have spent in Mexico as an official representative of the Lord Jesus Christ has been.... the craziest, most difficult, and most wonderful experience of my life. I would have loved to have stayed a little while longer if they would let me, but it seems like the Lord has other plans for me. But I am so so so so so eternally grateful that He let me come in the first place. 

This past Saturday, we had the opportunity to go to a baptism in Bellavista, which is the ward that shares a church building with La Aurora. I didn´t think I was going to see anyone from Aurora there because they don´t have their activities on Saturdays normally, but when we got there, almost the entire ward was there! We entered to say hi and to see what was going on and we learned that the ward mission leader and his wife had just been sealed in the temple as a family earlier that day! I love that family sooooo much and seeing them so happy made me so incredibly happy.

I have had a lot of little moments like that in my mission. Moments when I feel so much love and joy that I feel like my heart´s going to burst. Another one of those moments was today, when we went to say goodbye to Manuel. I told him that someday I´ll come back to visit, and that when that day comes, I want him to answer the door walking, and not in his wheelchair. And he told me that he would. I have seen the Lord work miracles in Manuel, literally he has been healing in front of my eyes, and I know that he will be walking when I see him again. 

This is, maybe, one of the most important things I have learned on my mission: how to love. How to give without expecting anything in return. How to serve with everything I have and feel real joy in that service. 

The Lord has taught me again and again in my time here that the blessings come when we serve. Way back in the beginning of my mission I shared with you all the lyrics of a youth song called "It´s not about you," and I have learned that principle again and again. When I forget myself, I am happy. When I´m feeling sick or tired, I know that the Lord will give me strength in the moment that I go out and contact someone. When I feel angry or frustrated, I know that I need to serve. 

And I know that when we truly give ourselves to the Lord, He can then work with us. He can change us, and then use us as instruments to bring about much good and many miracles. Sometimes we see the miracles He does through us, sometimes we don´t, but I know that they happen. 

 Honestly, I don´t really want to end the mission. But I know that while my official mission as a full-time missionary in Mexico may be ending, my mission in life is really just beginning. This Mexico mission has been like my training camp for my life mission. It was how I learned some important lessons and skills to help me in my future service, and how I expanded my sphere of influence. And now that I´m going back home, I´m returning with all the ganas in the world to keep serving and to always be a missionary.

I reread this talk by Elder Holland this morning, and it reminded me that even when some wonderful moments come to their end, the best is yet to be. I invite you all to read it, it´s really really good:

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/jeffrey-r-holland_remember-lots-wife/ 

I also invite you all to my little sister´s graduation party this Friday. I don´t know the details, but my mom does :) And I invite you all this Sunday to the Wadsworth Ward Sacrament Meeting, where I will share I few more thoughts about my mission and some important lessons I learned here. It´s in the Medina Chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I don´t remember the direction or the hour of our services, so you´ll have to ask my mom about that too. But I hope to see you all there.

I know that God is my Heavenly Father, that Jesus Christ is my Savior, that He lives, and that  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is His church. I know that the Book of Mormon is true, I really do. I know that I am His servant. I know these things with all my heart. 

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Herron

The Atlantes de Tula

Hello friends,

How´re you all doing? I´m doing pretty good. Today my companion and I went with a sister from our ward to the Atlantes de Tula, finally! I´ve been wanting to go for a long time now, basically ever since I got here to Arcos. 

So, Misión México Norte has two different sides. The first is the México State side, which includes Cuautitlan, where I have spent my entire mission. It´s more city, it´s basically a suburb of Mexico City. The second part is Hidalgo, which includes two zones, Tula and Atotonilco, which is a lot more rural, a lot more dust and cactus. In Tula, there are some ancient ruins that are pretty famous, so we went to see them. There are two pyramids (much smaller than those at Teotihuacan, but still pretty impressive) and on top of one of the pyramids there are some huge statue things that are called the Atlantes. Once again, I can´t send photos today, but I encourage you to look them up on the internet, they´re pretty impressive. 

But yeah, with one week remaining in the mission, I FINALLY got to go to Hidalgo.

Anyways, I just wanted to share one small experience with you. This Saturday our entire district went to a baptism that the Hermanas in La Aurora had. We didn´t know who was going to be baptized, but Hermana Jimenez and I were pretty excited because we both spent time there in la Aurora. And yes, I got to see a bunch of members there that I love so much, including Rodolfo, one of my the people I baptized there! But the best part was when I saw who was getting baptized. 

So about 3 months ago, a woman and her daughter came to church. They were driving by and the mother felt a strong feeling that made her want to enter the building. Her daughter did not want to come in and said that she would wait in the car, but her mom basically forced her to come in too. Well, they came in about half way through the Arcos sacrament meeting. They had some really strong spiritual experiences. Hermana Brady and Hermana Perez and I did our best to explain everything and to help them feel comfortable, and that night we passed the reference. And I had almost forgotten about all this until this Saturday when I got to see the daughter get baptized. The mother is going to be baptized this Sunday. 

I am so so so so incredibly grateful that the Lord let me witness at least part of this incredible miracle. 

This is a gospel of miracles.

I love you all!

-Hermana Herron

Exchanges

Hi Everyone!

Just in case you´ve all been wondering, I finish my mission and get home May 24th.

Now you all know. And now we´re not going to talk about that anymore because it just depresses me. 

Well, this week was crazy. We worked hard everywhere except our own area. Tuesday morning we started some exchanges which we finished Wednesday morning. Wednesday afternoon we started some more exchanges which ended Thursday afternoon. And all Wednesday and Thursday I felt a little sick, but nothing that could keep me from working. Friday we spent all day in a big meeting. Saturday we did a service activity in La Aurora (one of my areas!) where we helped clean an investigator´s field. By the end of the week Hermana Jimenez and I had spent about 5 hours working together in our own area :/ But this week should be a little more normal. 

Um, I really don´t have much time today.

But I want you to know that I know that Heavenly Father answers our prayers. And He always listens. So pray away!

I love you all. 

-Hermana Herron

Another Wonderful Baptism

Hi Everyone!

So happy Día del Trabajo today! And happy Día del niño yesterday!

And happy Día de la batalla de Puebla Friday!

Mexicans really like to celebrate things. 

Well, the big news for this week is that Nallely got baptized!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pictures will have to wait for some future date.

It was a beautiful service, a lot of people came. Including my mission president and his wife. 

Yesterday we had ward conference in church, and as part of the program Manuel and Nallely were invited to share their testimonies. Manuel was able to stand and support himself with the podium to bear his testimony. He had written his testimony before hand to not mess up, and seeing him standing there, reading his simple yet sincere testimony brought tears to my eyes. Then Nallely´s beautiful testimony broke me down completely. I love those two so much. 

The baptism and ward conference were a beautiful ending to a week that was honestly rather hard. We were very very busy and had less time that we would have liked to do proselyting, and when we did get out, no one was ever able or willing to meet with us. 

I honestly did get a little frustrated sometimes that Día del niño celebrations would be so much more important than God in the lives of some people. But that was really just a good reminder that, well, if these people don´t understand the importance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I do. And that´s why I´m here. 

I know that this Gospel and this Church are true. I know it. 

I love you all!

-Hermana Herron