Beware of Pride

Well things are back to normal-ish. It was something of a rough week but with lots of happy sprinkles.

Hermana Pugh ended up staying with me til Thursday, and we had lots of fun, conversations and success. But we were both ready to have permanent companions and get to work, especially her. But I'll tell you about one miracle.

Every Monday night we've been doing FHE's with a member family and whoever they or we choose to invite that week. It started as a four-week plan to go through the mission lessons and invite people, and I think I already told you about the inactive sister that came the first time and has just been glowing with happiness and changing her life since. She calls my companion her niece because apparently they look alike, and she calls me her "Guerita." (White one. I'll never get over that word. We need one like it but with an affectionate connotation because all we've got that I can think of is "pale," "pasty" etc..) But anyway it's been more than four weeks but we figure, why fix something that's not broken because it keeps bringing success and Hermana Fide makes delicious quesadillas.

So this week may have been the greatest yet. We've been having lots of issues with one of our convert families of one year that have started going to another church and closing their doors to the members. But miracle of miracles, both we and Hermana Fide invited the mom and she came with her daughter! And so did M., the miracle from week one. Annnd as we're all arriving, who shows up but a random aunt-something-removed and her friend who came to visit from Guerrero and had no idea about the FHE, nor the church in general. So as a big happy clan we put on the movie of How to find faith in Christ and have a nice discussion afterwards. It went really well, the spirit was strong, but the best part was as we're saying goodbye to everyone, the aunt hugs me SUPER tight to my surprise and says "Thank you." And then before I can ask anything she says "You can come visit me tomorrow. I'll be here for three days or so.”

Unfortunately the next day something came up and she wasn't able to make it home in time, nor the next night after, and then they were gone. But. The miracle is that upon talking to Fide, it had opened the door for lots of late-night discussions about the Book of Mormon, and after everything was said and done, she left town determined she wanted to be a member of the church and ready to go find the missionaries there. Yay!

We also had some days in which we walked, and WALKED all over our area in the rain and found empty door after empty door. But you know what? It wasn't anywhere near discouraging like it once was. Sometimes it's just nice to be in Mexico, with a namebadge on next to your companion and be doing the best you can. We found ourselves at one point at the limit of our area in a place we'd never been by a smelly river and took ourselves a picture. Cuz you're never going to remember the normal days, but the brutal ones live forever and are just awesome. I can't believe we've only got seven days left til this one leaves me. I just want to cry. But we're having fun, and today we're going to head down to Rancho Nuevo. Who knows what that is but it was my idea. I think there's caves there. We're going to go with the girls from the other ward who are our good friends.

Today we were studying about pride. Holy Ezra Taft Benson, everyone needs to look up his talk called "Beware of Pride." People who are older than me probably remember when he gave the talk because apparently it was super famous and impactful, but I can't get enough of it. Interesting to see that pride is not just vanity (a fruit of pride) but rather everything that is enmity towards God or any other person. Every time we compare ourselves to someone else, or want to have something better it is PRIDE. That's why Satan became Satan. Not because he wanted all that the Father had, but because he wanted MORE. He wanted it and for his own father to go down a rank. And now look at him. Poor kid. If he could just have been happy with being "Assistant 2" as my companion puts it, he really could have come to have all the father had. But it took HUMILITY to get there, it took glorifying the father, and it wasn't a price he was willing to pay. We HAVE to be willing to pay the price of humility! We have to admit we're wrong, say I'm sorry, be happy for other people's successes, and help in every way we can. Pride is just so destructive. That's why we have the old testament and Book of Mormon, just to teach us that. So anyway, loved that talk. Read it. Enjoy.

Well, you're all great! Wish us well in this last week and pray that I don't get dehydrated from shedding tears. Hehe ;) 

Love you all!