Wherein Maelynn Inundates Us With Photos!

March 27, 2017

Hola!   I think that I am gaining weight, and I don't really care, because the food is just soo gooood!

Yeah yeah yeah 3 months and it still feels like Christmas was last week! I seriously am a little freaked out by how fast the time is flying.   Sometimes the days are long, but for the most part, I dont know where the time is going! It makes me want to just live life to the fullest every day, focus on the good things, and be happy!  Which really isn't that hard to do with my rockin companion and being in Tepoztlan which has a nickname of "pueblo magico"!  Yeah life's pretty much the best! 

Today I hit 3 months yeah yeah yeah! apparently it's a thing to get jerseys for your zone, booyah, Go zona civac!

     Transfers were last week, and the new hermanas and elders we got in our zone are super fun!  I love getting to meet and spend time with the other missionaries, they're like my family down here, and we're all kind of in this together.  It's like having a whole bunch of older brothers and sisters (because I'm pretty much the youngest and smallest one here) - but hey, I like it... I've never had older siblings!

I think that my companion thinks that I'm crazy, but how am I suppossed to know which one is the best if I don't try them all?? (Mom note: This makes me super proud of you, Maelynn!)

     This week, nothing super duper exciting happened, at least I don't think so, if so, I dont remember. Oh something super sad: we had an actividad de rescate in Jiutepec on Saturday and it's like 2 hours away.  So we headed back to Tepoz for the Women's COnference and got to the church at like 7:15 thinking that it started at 7 pm (which is 6 in Utah). Yea, well, we got there just in time for the closing hymn. Que triste.  We're going to download the talks and listen to them this week.

      I'm so pumped for Conference this weekend! We taught a lesson in church about the sacerdocio (priesthood) and the profetas (prophets) on Sunday and it just made me even more excited to be able to hear from them this weekend!  Sad to hear that Pres. Monson wasn't there on Saturday. Hopefully he's well enough to address us this weekend!    Also, there's like 5 Americans in our zone, so we're all going to watch it in English! (Because even though we can understand it in spanish (well sort of) it's just SOOO much better to be able to hear their actual voices and their emotions!)

Some random pics: meditating at Tepozteco; oh yeah, guess what? We're totally making dresses, BY HAND! I'll let you know how it goes; and me teaching the Ingles alphabet.

     And you know, some days the spanish really is frustrating, and I know I'm not learning as fast as I would with a latino comp, but we've been focusing more on speaking Spanish with each other, especially when we're not in the casa, and I know that it's helping. and I'm not too worried about it, because I know that it will come.  I'm actually really grateful to have an American as my first comp because I have been able to focus more on adjusting to the life of a missionary and how to be a missionary rather that just how to communicate with my comp. We are really close, and it's super fun! I hope you guys get to meet Hermana Shook someday!

We decided to sleep on the roof one night because it just sounded fun haha. Not totally sure that that's kosher, but theres nothing about not sleeping on your roof in the white bible! Sadly it got kind of cold so we ended up going inside at like midnight. and yeah I totally bought myself an authentic Mexican drug rug!

So apparently I fall asleep on the buses a lot and my comp takes pics...

      We've been having more capacitaciones focused on teaching repentance and about when we teach leccion 3 (the gospel of Jesus Christ) we should focus on how they all connect...how when you have faith it leads to a desire to repent and be baptized and with the Holy Ghost you can endure to the end! The gospel is so cool!

      I'm super pumped to come home to the Idaho Falls temple new and improved! I actually miss going to the temple a lot a lot! I loved going so often before I left, and I can definitely feel the absense.  It's been like 2 months since I've gone, wowza.  The temple is just such a HUGE blessing!! I'm excited for Landen to get out here!   He'll be awesome...if he doesnt sleep in!  Lol

I think that's it for this week.

love love love you mama,

Love Hermana Bailey

P.S.  

Yeah, thats some sort of creature that I found literally in the bristles of my toothbrush.  

And thats my companion hunting for the human-sized cucaracha that scurried across our floor.  Don't worry we found it, and it is no longer alive.  Also, there were a couple spiders in my bed the other night, And heres just a few of the places that we've found scorpions: the floor, the walls, the ceiling, a blanket, my companion's towel, the kitchen sink, my journal, and the head of my bed.  I know I sound calm in this email, but they really freak me out!  We actually started a bug collection, you know how some people press flowers in their scriptures (well we do that too) but we also started covering the bugs in plastic and putting them in our scriptures! I know, we're weirdos, 

but  how cool is it having a scorpion in your D&C?

Wherein Maelynn Hikes Tepotzteco!

March 20, 2017

     This week pretty solid, pretty good, nothing super duper exciting, We've got some really solid investigators, and we have a lot of faith for their progression! Our family that we're still working with a lot to get divorced and then married: we actually went to a place called Yautepec last week to investigate because Tepoztlan is super touristy so it is also super expensive to get married here, and super complicated to get divorced, but we're gonna get things figured out!

     Oh it was our turn to give talks on Sunday, so I gave my first sacrament talk in Spanish - what what!?   I talked about faith and it was pretty short, and I read most of it, and I cried, and I wasn't close enough to the mic so nobody could really hear me. I was just up there crying to myself, but I think it went well. LOL

      I made it through my first transfer in the field! I'm half-way through my training and I still feel like I don't really know basically anything!  But my companion tells me that she has seen a big improvement in my Spanish and in how much I contribute to the lessons. so I guess it's just hard to see improvement in yourself. 

     We had interina last week, (which is a training with the presidente half way through my training) so I got to see Hermana Torgersen again! It was super fun to see her and to see that she is doing well!  We're getting a new zone and district leader today and 2 of my favorite hermanas got transfered, its actually really sad because they're both from Mexico so who knows if I'll see them again? 

     I'm so happy for Seth, those (patriarchal) blessings are a special kind of powerful! Sad to hear about the McMasters leaving.

     We had a whopping 11 people in our English class.  Among other missionaries that used to try doing an English class, the record attendance was 7, so we're kind of kicking butt! But its actually been really good for us! We got 5 new investigators in one English class...and we've got some really stellar investigators! 

     Hiking Tepozteco along with everyone else in Mexico, because Mexicans love to celebrate everything! Nobody has school or works today because it's the equinox or the first day of Spring or something like that, so everyone climbs to the pyramid! 

This is a picture from today, we only hiked up to Tepozteco again because Sammy invited us to. (Because it's actually a really exhausting hike, like 45 minutes of straight stairs). 

     This is Sammy. He's 19, and he's been listening to the missionaries for almost 3 years, but he had only been to church like 2 or 3 times before and he's started coming again with us!  We've been really focusing on the Book of Mormon and baptism with him.  We see so much potential in him!  He says he just wants to have faith like us, but we keep telling him that he already has faith, and that baptism is an act of faith and that he'll keep learning everyday, and that we definitely don't know everything! Today we sat him down and said "Hey, you're coming to church, you're reading the Book of Mormon, you're praying, so lets set a goal of April 15th for your baptism, what do you think?"  He accepted that goal! He had lots of questions after church and we had him read the intro to the Libro de Mormon and he said it answered so many questions and he said he is going to read the whole Book of Mormon in like 4 days!  We didn't tell him to do that, he just said he needs to have more faith so he made the goal for himself.  He's really super awesome and it's neat to see him progress!

     This was our little sleep over group we had every Monday night, we would get tacos or tortas al pastor and have a fiesta after district meeting. But sadly today there are changes and 2 of them got transferred :( good memories though!

Amor,

Hermana Bailey

P.S. This is the correct address for the mission office. (I still haven't recieved that package.) :(

C. Francisco Leyva #109

Col. Miguel Hidalgo

Cuernavaca, Morelos México

C.P. 62040

Wherein Maelynn has her FIRST BAPTISM!

March 13, 2017
   
      I'm so super pumped for Landen!  I just cant wait for him to get out here and join in the work!

Well this week was totes amaze! (haha, mom)

Our area is super great! I honestly love it and I feel so blessed to have been "born" here.  We find people every week that have been so obviously prepared by the Lord! It's amazing to be a part of this work! 

      The only bad part about our area is that its super touristy, so every Saturday and Sunday (and sometimes other random days of the week) for all of the random holidays and saints they celebrate down here, the streets are packed with people, and it's really hard to contact people. but other than that our area is really super awesome! I'm pretty sure that all of the other missionaries are jealous! and even though I've only been here for a month, I TOTALLY want to come back after the mission!  Actually, the second councelor in our branch presidency served his mission here and came back and married one of the members haha

Tepoz is FULL of cool murals all over the place!

[This is our abuelita friend, her and the little pollito both have baptism dates :)]

Well this week was totes amaze! (haha mom)

First of all, on one of the buses, they were playing U2 "With or without you!"

I'm really struggling with Spanish. I feel like I'm not learning very fast, but do you want to know something super cool? somehow I remember the silly little songs that Senora Contor taught me back in like 5th grade, about question words and about preterit and imperfect! I don't know how because that was SOO long ago, and I actually fell asleep most of 9th grade with her...oops.  But somehow I remember them and they actually help! 

Another thing that I find myself struggling with is goal setting. Just like ok we have 7 investigators with fecha, the most we've gotten in a week is 4, so we're going to set our goal as 14 for next week? why? my companion tells me I need to have more faith, which I guess I do! Lots more - because it just doesn't make sense to me. But I hope it comes!

OK - a funny story: This week before church on Sunday we passed by for an invest ]igator but he said he couldnt come but asked if we wanted cocas? We said sure - thinking he'd just grab a couple bottles of coke, then we hear him wacking something, so we looked around the corner. Turns out he said cocos like coconuts and he was slicing them open with a machete. haha so we showed up to church with 2 huge cocos!  And then after church we always go to comida with a member, Hna Elvira and she offered to open the cocos for us (because the invest just opeened them enough to put a straw in them)...So then there was this 50 year old lady just going to town with a machete on these coconuts! haha it was quite a sight! 

     And then after comida, she usually calls a taxi to take us home because she lives pretty far out of town, but I guess that they fxed their old truck, so she decided to drive us home. Well when she got in the car, she looked around for a sec then just started praying so we were like 'oh crap she doesnt know how to drive!'  So when she got done praying, Hna Shook asked if she remembered how to drive and all she said was "por eso me hago mi oracion".  I'm sorry but I couldn't stop laughing! Then we get going a little bit and the car starts to sound weird and I realize that she's still in first gear! so I  ask her about it, if she needs to shift and she just says "no estoy bien" as if shifting was just an option!   I don't really know how to drive stick, but I know enough to know that it's not really optional.  Then we get to the edge of town, stop in the middle of an intersection, and she just says "aqui"! Me and Hna Shook look at each other confused and then realize she's waiting for us to get out of the car.  Well ok then, we're only about a 30 minute walk away from our house.  Haha, so we got off and she drove off.  We laughed about that for quite a while! Oh Elvira, what a character! But we love her!

      Fernando's baptism was on Saturday and it was such a beautiful experience! We had lots of people show up (like 20 which is a huge chunk of our rama) and the members had everything totally under control with an official welcome and everyone gave him a hug to congratulate him (or just shook his hand if you were a missionary) and refreshments! 

     Hna shook and I did the special musical number, "A Child's Prayer", we sang both parts in Spanish and then combined them in English.  The best part, other than the actual baptism, was when his parents bore their testimonies, they both have really strong testimonies, and even though they're not baptized yet, they have such a firm understanding that the church is true, they strengthen my testimony, and we're working hard and investigating more to find somewhere for them to get divorced and marriend so that they can get baptized and then SEALED! I love this little family and our branch and Tepoztlan and being a missionary!

got to go, love you! bye!

Wherein Maelynn Cuddles Baby Goats!

March 6, 2017

Hola!  

  I forget that it's cold there, because it's actually pretty toasty down here.  Their hottest months are April, May and June, so we're starting to warm up quite a bit.  I can already feel a difference in the temperature, i don't really sleep with a blanket anymore, and we walk in the shade if it's ever possible. Not really looking forward to the next few months of heat, but I'm actually in probably the coolest place in the mission, so i don't really have anything to complain about.

piña ice cream IN A PIÑA! 

...and baby goats because they were selling them on the street and they're just soooo cute!

The lessons are getting better, but still what I struggle with the most.  But my companion is super great and patient and is letting me ease into things rather than expecting me to know everything!

Tepoztlan is back to normal FINALLY after Carnaval! 

But this week was even more nuts that last week for us! 

      Tuesday we got back from Cuernavaca like normal and had most of the day to work in our area, and found a couple more investigators Woo!  Wednesday we had the full day in Tepoz. 

Thursday we had interview with Presidente in Cuernavaca, so we just went there and back in the day, but it took most of the day, the only other things we had time to do was our english class (which we're up to 3 students - what what) and correlation with our ward mission leader, he's super awko taco but he helps us a lot!   

         Friday was back to Cuernvaca and we had to wake up at 5:30 to get there on time :'(  for zone conference with Presidente from 8 in the morning until 3!!! 

lets just say I had a MAJOR headache! It takes so much brain power for me to understand Spanish! So much concentration! But I made it!  And then we ate and then we had another surprise meeting about family history which was relatively boring but we were super tired and just laughed at everything.  Also I MET SOMEONE IN EMILY'S WARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHE WAS BORN IN CUERNA MOVED TO UTAH WHEN SHE WAS 11 AND THEN ONE OF HER FRIENDS FROM HERE CAME AND LIVED WITH HER IN UTAH FOR A YEAR AND NOW HER FRIEND IS GOING ON A MISSION SO SHE IS HERE TO SPEND TIME WITH HER AND SAY GOODBYE.  But she's from Pleasant Grove and knows aunt Emily!! nuts huh? her name is Whitney Bird!

(This is the girl in Em's ward)

This is our family (the one we are teaching). . . 

Fernando is in the middle, he's the one getting baptized on Saturday and the little girl is Judith and then there's Tere and Merced who are going to get married! yay!

So, because of the surprise meeting we ended up having to spend the night even though we didn't pack anything. and then went home the next morning because we had Fernandos baptism interview!! (he passed) woo hoooo!  We then came right back to Cuernavaca because we had the adult session of Stake Conference (not gonna lie, it was a little boring, maybe I was just tired..)  and so we spent the night AGAIN because of stake conference on sunday, and then we just stayed sunday night because we have district meeting tonight, so we'll be staying AGAIN tonight and finally going home on tuesday! 

what a week! 

The hermanas house that we're staying at is approximately the size of our kitchen: 1 room and a teeeeeennnyy tiiinnny bathroom, and there's 2 other hermanas staying too, so the 6 of us, and we just take turns sleeping on the tile because there's only 5 mattresses but it's actually not that big of a deal because we're always so tired we just pass out and its actually been SUPER fun...like a 5 day party! 3 mexicanas and 3 gueras and I can't tell you how much fun we've been having!

I know you guys wish you could be here doing what I'm doing, you're all jealous, I know, but you can't  -  lo siento.

Muchismo amor,

Hermana Bailey

P.S.  This is probably my favorite thing to eat, a pollo y papa y queso quesadilla! mmmmmm :) 

(We're really not supposed to eat street food because its "dirty", but its SOOOOO GOOOOD! and I have gotten sick from members food twice, but never from street food, so.... 

Funny story, yesterday all 6 of us had comida with a member here in Chapultapec and last night we all woke up at various times with diarrhea but nobody knew anyone else was sick until this morning at 6:30 when we woke up and one hermana groaned and said "tengo diarea" and all the rest of us  said "yo tambien" and then we passed around the bottle of pepto taking shots!)