Another Great Week in Mexico!

I guess our big news is that our investigators that need to get married are planning their wedding for this week or the next! They are so close! These two people are the biggest examples to me! Even though they can't be baptized they go to church EVERY Sunday. They are very humble and live in a tin shack, it's so sad but,  they have the greatest desire to be baptized. They are trying to save all of their money to pay for their wedding and because of that they sometimes go days without food. I have really grown to love them, and admire them.

I don't know if I told you guys about our newest investigator Hermano Irving! He is 15 years old and knows that this church is true but, hasn't gone to church yet. He is so smart, I can't believe it!  I am amazed every time we teach him! But, at the same time I am so sad when he doesn't come to church!

Also, the husband of a recent convert has started to come to church regularly! Hooray! We are so excited and are going to invite him to be baptized this week. I can't wait! he is so good! He knows a lot, and really wants to learn more. Before he was a little bit hesitant to be baptized but, I think now he is ready! Please pray for Hermano Pedro!

This week I have had some hard challenges but, the Lord helped me through them! I am so grateful for Our Father in Heaven and for the Atonement of Jesus Christ! With out them and their sacrifices this would be the hardest thing ever. I am so surprised when I kneel down and express EVERYTHNG I am feeling and he helps me. I have come to know a little bit more about what the atonement is, and how to use it in our lives.

I am so excited for this upcoming week! General Conference is the best! I challenge you all to listen with questions, to take notes, and to ponder the words of the speakers. I know that if you do, you will become closer to Our Heavenly Father. I know this church is true! I know Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God. I know that Jesus Christ lives. 

I love you all!

Hermana Elise Riedelbach

Me Encanta Este Obra!

This week was so good! The week started out really bad but, shortly after I experienced a Miracle. Never lack faith in our Heavenly Father! He will always bless us!

On Saturday Hermana María Luisa was baptized! By far the most stressful day of my life. When we got to the church we started cleaning and when we opened up the font it was FULL of LIME GREEN MOLDY WATER!!!! um, what!? There was no way someone was going to be baptized in that. So, my comp and I grabbed some brooms, hiked up our skirts, and started cleaning. The Elder's ran home and got some bleach and an hour and a half later it was clean. It was the most disgusting thing I have ever walked in and I have never sweated so much in my life! When we finally finished the Elder that was supposed to baptize her was no where to be found and no one else had clothes to do it. :(

I was so frustrated, everything seemed to be going wrong when I so badly wanted it to go well. After we contacted the Elder I realized that I had to give a talk and because I had to clean the font I hadn't prepared anything. Everyone said to rely on the spirit and in that moment I realized I didn't have the spirit with me. I asked my companion if we could go pray. After the prayer I felt a lot better and I wasn't stressed anymore, I knew my Heavenly Father would help me. I asked Hermana Pasley if she had a scripture I could share and she reminded me of what I shared that morning during our scripture study.

I shared Matthew 3:17 ( I think). After Jesus was baptized he heard a voice from the heavens saying this is my son whom I am well pleased. I shared a brief testimony about how the Lord was pleased with the decision that she had made. I expressed how grateful I am to know her family and how they have changed my life! My Heavenly Father saved me. I wasn't nervous, and I felt like my Spanish just flowed.

After the ordinance I was helping her get ready and she gave me the biggest hug and told me how she was grateful for me and how I needed to teach her husband more. I know without a doubt in my heart that they will all be baptized and that one day they will be an eternal family! After that, she kept saying that the water in the font was delicious. AHH, the spirit was so strong!

I didn't think it could get any stronger until Hermanita Vero shared her testimony! She said that when she was baptized she felt alone because no one else in her family got baptized with her. She said that she was so grateful her mom decided to get baptized. She said that one day she wants to have an eternal family and that she wants her dad and brother to get baptized too! WHAT!! I cried. OK, I think everyone cried. It was the best thing anyone could have ever said to them! The spirit was so so strong! Hermana María Luisa shared her testimony. It was PERFECT. I think this will be the best baptism I will ever have.

I love this family so much. They literally are my family here in México. They have changed my life in so many ways. I can't wait for them to continue to progress in the Church and one day have an eternal family!

Thank you all so much for what you have done for me! I love you all! I tried to send pictures of all of this but, this computer is being really strange and won't let me attach them. Next week!

 Love, 

Hermana Riedelbach

P.S. I got the funniest letters this week! I got a package of letters from the Eatough Family! Oh my heavens. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time! They all drew me pictures of Hermana Castro and I in the back of a truck with a pooping dog!!! It was hilarious. I didn't quite know what it was at first but,  then an Elder or Hermana pointed at the 'poop' and I cracked up laughing in our District class. It was to good to be true! Thanks so much for thinking of me, and for making my day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I surrvived transfers and have a feeling I will be here for awhile! President Monson has asked that we stay in our areas as long as possible to build trust with the members! What a blessing because we have a baptisim this week!

Hermana Maria Lusia is so ready for baptisim! I am so proud of her and am so grateful for her example to me! Her Husband gave her permision to be baptized but, isn't happy about it. Yesterday she said that it didn't matter, she made her decision and she is going to stick with it! She is so strong especially with all of the adversity she is facing right now! Satan is trying to hit her with all he has because he knows she is going to a great instrument in the hands of our Savior!

On Saturday we had a Stake Relief Society activity and got to dress up like Pioneers, it was so funny! An Elder had to play the role of Joseph Smith, by far the funniest RS Activity of my life. It was the Birthday Party so, we re-enacted how RS came about!

I really don't have much more to share this week!  Other than it's extremely hot and I am working up a good tan!  :) By the time I come home I might not only sound native, I might look native as well.  :)  I will add a bunch of photos of my district, zone, and what we have been doing.

I hope all is well!

Love,

Hermana Riedelbach

My Mission First: Peeing my Pants :)

I can't believe another week has flown by! Transfers are next week and I can't believe it, another 6 weeks here. Where does the time go? I don't think I will be leaving Carmen or my area, but who knows?

This week was really good! The days flew by because we had a lot of appointments! It was surely a blessing! This week we worked really hard with the Lopez family and Hermana Maria Luisa has a baptism date! March 22! We are more than excited!

We also asked Hermanito Rodrigo or Roro and he declined. But I talked with him some more and he told me he would start praying about it. I am so excited for him. We gave him his own copy of the Book of Mormon on Saturday and he started reading a chapter everyday and marking his scriptures. Yesterday at Church he was chatting it up with all of the young men and he looked so happy! I can't even begin to tell you all the changes I am seeing in this families life. It is so amazing! I want to finish my mission with them in the temple but,  Hermano Nestor still isn't so sure about this. He went to church yesterday and said that he would continue to go to church and support his family but, he thinks that his baptism in the Catholic church is enough. Little by little we are working with him.

Hermano Carlitos continues to be golden but, we have to move date back a week or two which stinks but, as long as he keeps following through, we will be good! He really has a desire to work hard and to learn more about this church. I am amazed at the youth here and all they do!

We made a break through with Hermano Carlos and his "wife" Hermana Rafaela. They have a hard time learning but, we made some huge posters with pictures to help describe what the lessons are about so they can study, learn and remember all of the things we teach them! On Sunday my companion quizzed them and they remembered everything we taught them! We are definitely going to keep this up with them!

Funnies: Oh man, oh man! I really don't think I have ever laughed this much in my whole life! Hermana Aguirre, Hermana Gonzalez and Hermana Pasley are the funniest people ever. We pretty much just laugh all the time! We all have a giant fear of the bugs here so, anytime there is a cockroach we scream and scream until someone,-usually me- gets up the guts up to kill it. I swear, the neighbors probably think we are getting murdered half the time.

Last night I went to use the bathroom and a huge flying cockroach flies in the window, I start screaming and run out. Hermana Aguirre grabs the mop and starts trying to kill it while yelling DIE! DIE! DIE! in English and it just keeps flying and flying around our apartment. When we would think it was dead it would fly somewhere else. It was so funny and scary. I laughed so hard I peed my pants, literally. Oh man! It eventually flew in our room and then crawled under my bed and we killed it, but it took a good 30 minutes.

Hermana Aguirre wants to learn English and knows a little. We keep encouraging her to talk more. It's so funny. She knows a bunch of random songs in English and will just randomly say a line from a song. The other night in a meeting with our ward mission leader she just randomly says, "Touch me baby" hahaha WHAT? We DIED laughing. It was soooooo funny! The best part was that she forgot the mission leader speaks English, and he heard what she said. Oh man, his face!

Hermana Pasley is such a blessing, it's so nice to live with another American. She gets all my humor and it's fun to teach our companions funny things in English!

We serioulsy have the funnest times together! I can guarantee that after our missions we are all going to be best of friends! Hermana Pasley and I have so many things planned. I will be so sad if one of us is transferred this next Monday! After we are done writing to our families and friends I think we are headed to Dairy Queen! :)

I am so happy to be here with these amazing Hermanas and to be working for the Lord. I have witnessed so many miracles in my mission and know that without a doubt this is what I am supposed to be doing. I know that this is the true church. Every day I receive yet another witness. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know that it is the most perfect book on this Earth. I know that Jesus Christ truly died for our sins. I know that this Gospel changes lives, because mine has changed so much from being out here! I know he answers our prayers, maybe not when we want it, but he always does!

I love you all and pray for you all every night! Have a wonderful week!

Hermana Elise Riedelbach

P.S. Shout out to my newest blog stalkers The Pasley Family! I don't think it's creepy at all that you read my blog! And for everyone else go read about what happens in the other half of my ward www.hermanapasley.blogspot.com

P.S. Watch this video, We had a training on it and I cried!

https://www.lds.org/training/wwlt/2013/hastening/members-and-missionaries?lang=eng#media=15069624720124019474-eng

Small and Simple Things

This week was full of small and simple Milagros.

3 of our investigators have baptisimal dates! We are working so hard with them so that they can know everything there is to know about this Gospel.

One of them, Hermanito Carlitos came to church for 4 weeks and had never met with the missionaries or anything. He is 13 years old and wants to be baptized and his parents gave their permission! What a blessing!

The other two are a couple. Right now we are working on getting them married. The Hermano can't read or write, but, his wife can. It's a little hard for them to understand everything but, they are so good! They have a desire to be baptized and be a part of this church!

Another great Milagro; remember the Lopez Family? Well, Hermanito Roro decided to attend EFY! It was such a blessing and a milagro. At first he didn't want to go so, we brought the directors of EFY over to his house so that they could explain more of what EFY was. He still didn't want to go so, we went back the next day and talked about it and still no. Then the Teachers Quorum President went over to invite him himself. He talked to him about EFY and showed him a video and then he decided yes he would go,and he is so excited! This truly is a testament that we can't do this work on our own. We need the help of members!

The Lopez Family is my second family. I love them so much and they are progressing slowly but surley. Hermana Maria Luisa has had some really awesome experiences with prayer this month and we are going to commit her to a date this week! So, start praying! Ok, I am half joking on that one. She has a lot of fear to be baptized without her husband but, I know that she can do it!

President Valenzuela of the Seventy came this week, and wow, he has a great testimony! He told us a lot of things that we needed to work on and to do better. I think the biggest thing I learned was that everything starts on our knees with prayer. We have a big goal here in Mexico to baptize every week and I truly want to do that, and so does everyone in this mission but, then he asked us how many people have prayed for that? 1 Elder raised his hand. We can't receive anything if we don't ask for it! I keep wanting help with my Spanish or to remember things better but, how many times have I asked for this in my prayers? I haven't really... We need to be specific in the things that we pray for and actually ask for things. The Lord wants to bless all of us because he loves us but, we need to ask and we need to be worthy to receive them.

Hermana Gonzalez is the best! I love her so much, we laugh so hard! I live with two other sisters right now and they are hysterical as well! We have so much fun together! Hermana Pasley and Hermana Aguirre they are crazy but, so fun! This week we found the biggest spider I have ever seen in my life! Oh my stars! It was huge! I have a video of me trying to kill it, I will try to send that in a minute! We also had a salamander, but he died so we had a funeral! hahaha.

I want to thank Bebe for the Valentine package she sent. It is so wonderful getting pieces of home.  

I also want to wish Bella, Ava, Holly and G-Pa Happy Birthday!  I hope you all had/have a wonderful day!  I miss you all.

I love you all tons! Have a good week!

Hermana Riedelbach