Semana (Week) 54: The Book of Hermana Boice

                                                                   CHAPTER 54

The missionaries are exhorted to walk uprightly and preach.  Salvation comes through Christ.  

God comforts and cares for his saints.  The saints are given assurance by the spirit in their hearts.

And it came to pass that I, Hermana Boice, having been born of goodly parents, and having received instruction from the Church, which is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which is the true church, and having been called of God to serve as his servant in a mission, I write, therefore, the history of my time as a servant of the Lord.

  2 Yea, and I write in the language of my fathers and the language of my people.  Which is composed of English. But in some times, Spanglish.

  3 And behold, I write in few words for the lack I have of time.  

  4 And it came to pass that 2 years have passed away from the reign of Presidente Egginton in the Mexico Guadalajara East Mission.  And the people have hardened their hearts and have rejected the words of the missionaries.  But behold, The people of the church have strengthened their faith and their desire to bring these people to the truth.

  5 And it came to pass that my companion Hermana Cantarero, ended her time as a servant called of God, and returned to the land of Belize. And behold, having need for a companion, the Lord called Hermana Sagahon to be mine companion.  

  6 And behold, seven days have passed from this day.  And therefore, having need for new investigators to preach the gospel, we have been guided by the spirit to find those that have been chosen by the Lord to receive this glad message.  

  7 Wherefore it came to pass that as we listened to the guidance of the Spirit, we were lead to the people that have accepted to hear of this message.

  8 And it came to pass that one women, being named Esmerelda, listened to our message, and behold, she felt a feeling of hope in her heart.  For behold, she hath felt despair for many years because of her three children, who have not followed the ways of the Lord.

  9 And it came to pass that she assisted the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and felt the Spirit of the Lord, and desired to have a mighty change of heart.

  10 And it came to pass that the third day of the week, we visited family of Mendoza.  Yea, we did talk and preach and did make ourselves merry.  And behold they did give us to eat and to drink until we were filled.  

  11 And it came to pass that after we were filled in the belly, they did giveth us a treat of strange form.  The name of this treat is Chungos, yea, what is known in Zamora. And we tasted of this treat, and behold it was sweet to the taste. 

  12 Wherefore, we did ask of how one maketh such a thing.  

  13 And it came to pass that they did begin to explain to us how one maketh such a thing. One putteth milk out until it stinketh, yea, until it beginneth to make clumps.  And behold, one mixeth the clumps with sugar and other things, until it maketh sweet to the taste.

  14 And behold, I write not all of the things that have come to pass, for behold, they are many.

  15 Behold, I delighteth in the words of the prophets, and in the scriptures.  And delighteth in the words of the prophet John when he sayeth: Hijitos mios, no amemos de palabra ni de lengua, sino de hecho y en verdad.(1 John 3:18)

  16 Yea, may that we always love with our actions, and not by our tongue. And these things I leave with you, Amen.

Leadership meeting

A new really weird fruit called Higo...doesn't taste bad.

Beautiful Zamora!

Semana (Week) 53: Cambios (Transfers) !!! And first time working in a threesome!

New companion

Well, this week I haven't worked at all in my area, and hardy the last week, because we were in Guadalajara a lot. Very very sadly, my comp finished her mission :( Our last day together was on Wednesday, and then I had to travel back to Zamora and she needed to stay until Monday.  Truly awful saying goodbye.  I traveled back to Zamora with my Zone Leaders, which was a bit weird at first.  First time in a year, I have been alone and with 2 men...but it was all good.  Then, I went to stay with our sisters in Nueva Luneta and we were a threesome until today when I received my new comp Hermana S.  She is super awesome and cute, and we are going to have a really great transfer together.  She is from my generation, we came in the mission at the same time. 

Missionaries that I am going to miss a lot!
Now they have returned home. 

It was certainly interesting being in a threesome, a bit hard, but we did it!  And I was able to survive with the money that I had during this time, since I didn't have anything else because we used everything on travel.  Finally, got home today with only 2 pesos left.  There is something that lots of people here like to eat called Chicharrón (literally, the fatty skin of a pig).  If its cooked right, it doesn't actually taste too bad.  We ate that with a member this week.  

We had a really awesome experience when I was in divisions with Hermana M.  We didn't have any more plans left, so we decided to tract a bit.  I remembered the talk of Elder Uchtdorf during the Women's Conference about the missionaries that knocked on every single door of a building.  Literally, the last one ended up accepting them and they were baptized.  So, we sat down and said a pray, to help us to know what street that we should knock on doors.  After, I felt the impression to knock on the doors in the street behind us.  We started at the end and no one accepted us inside. We got to the 2nd to last door, and opened up to a girl.  She recognized us, told us that she has gone to our church, and has a friend that is member.  And she lives in my area!  She was just visiting a friend.  So we taught her and are going to visit her some time this coming week.  Then, we knocked on the last door and the man also recognized us. About 10 years ago, he listened to the missionaries.  So, we also were able to teach him.  It makes me marvel every time when we have the amazing opportunity to have the influence of the Spirit.

Super ready to start this transfer and work super hard! Thank you all for your prayers, they really do help! :)

Love,

Hermana Boice

Our Leadership Counsel....we have our goofy side too.

Biggest zucchini I have ever seen!

Semana (Week) 52: 1 YEAR!!!

I still can't comprehend it yet, but I HAVE ONE YEAR IN THE MISSION! I really have no idea what happened, I think there had to be some type of time warp involved or something.  But now I only have 4 more transfers left.  Next Monday is transfers, so we will see what will be happening.  For sure I am going to have a different companion because Hermana C. is going to finish her mission next Monday.  It's hard for me to imagine that the day will eventually come, haha.  Better that I don't think of that....

Well, this week was a tiny bit CRAZY.  Really we were not able to work well this week.  We had to leave on Wednesday to head to Guadalajara so that I could go renew my visa on Thursday.  Got to see my sisters that came with me in the mission, and then we had to head with the Sister AP`s (Assistants to the President) because we had divisions with them in Morelia. I was so happy to return to my Aeropuerto Stake! On Friday, I was with Hermana S. which was special, because we both completed a year that day, and our comps threw us a little party.  One tradition here is that you need to take a huge bite out of the cake if its your birthday.  So we had to take a bite of our cake.  I went first, and Hermana S. didn't want to.  So I bent down and started smelling the cake, saying that it smelled weird.  Poor Hermana S. fell for it and bent down to smell it and I smashed her face into the cake.  It was soooooo funny.  We wanted to take a bus to return to our area before the Saturday sessions, but we found out that they were not sending any buses to Zamora until Sunday...something about safety.  So we stayed there for Saturday and returned on Sunday to our area to watch Conference.  

One of my favorite talks was given by Russell M. Nelson when he talked about joy.  That our afflictions and trials actually help us to feel real joy.  I love that joy does not depend of our difficult situations, but our own perspective of things. We choose to feel joy.  It was really interesting, because after the Women's Conference, I told my comp, "Why don't they ever put missionaries in the choir to sing during conference? It would be so awesome!" And then it happened during conference! It was a prophecy.  When they started to sing "I'll go Where you Want me to Go", my comp and I were crying so much, because she is ending her mission next week.  In this moment, I never wanted to end my mission.  It was all a beautiful experience.

Let you all know what happens next week! Love you!

Hermana Boice

I tried talking to the horse in giving us a ride because we don't have cars or bikes, but he wasn't up for it.

Our Zone Activity Today.

Semana (Week) 51: HE GOT BAPTIZED!!

The best thing happened this week! Pablo got baptized!! It was a little chaotic getting everything ready, but in the end, everything was good.  His biological parents told us that they were going to make it to the baptism.  So we tried waiting for them, but when it came time for the baptism, we couldn't wait any longer.  About 15 minutes after, they showed up! They told us that they got caught in the rain.  But they still came! They also have so many desires to be baptized and soon they will be able to in October.  They told us that there two other sons that are having lots of problems told them that if they get baptized, they will start going to church.  Maybe there are all going to get baptized in different times, but its amazing to see this chain reaction that is happening all because of a little 10 year old boy.

Something that my loving companion did to me this week.  We were in our personal study one morning, and a huge cockroach ran out of my scriptures and went under the table.  I left the room for a little time, and came back.  My comp told me that she killed the cockroach.  So I sat down in my chair again, with a breath of relief and started reading my scriptures again.  About 5 seconds later, she started to laugh, and that worried me a lot...I knew that she did something.  I stood up and looked at my chair and found the dead cockroach....I had been sitting on.  She thought that would be funny.  She is just so loving right?

This week I was meditating the scripture in Hebrews 5:8, "y aunque era Hijo, por lo que padeciò, aprendiò la obediencia."  I never really thought of it this way, that Christ learned how to be perfectly obedient, because he had so many trials and opportunities for him to learn to be obedient. For us to learn obedience, it means that there is a choice involved, opposition. If everything was just perfect all the time, without us having the opportunity to choose between right and wrong, we would never learn how to choose what is right. If I know that alcohol is something that we should never drink, but I have never seen it in my life and never around it, then it would be super easy to *choose* to not drink. But the real obedience that we show is when we have all of the bad influences around us all the time, and we choose to be obedient. Even when the temptation is so prevalent and so desirable, we choose to love God more. And from all of the things that Christ had to suffer, which was everything, he learned to be perfectly obedient.

I hope that everyone is getting ready for General Conference this week! Prepared spiritually with questions that you need answered, Ive already got mine! :) 

Love you all!

Hermana Boice

Semana (Week) 50: ....Super Crazy Week....but AWESOME!

Zone Meeting in Uruapan!

So, we only worked like 3 days this whole last week, which was a bit of a bummer.  We had divisions with the Sisters that are under our direction 2 times.  First, we had to travel in the afternoon on Monday to head to the Uruapan Stake, then Tuesday, we had a Zone Meeting there.  Then we did divisions with the sisters until the next day and we didn't get back until really late on Wednesday. Thankfully Thursday, we could work, but then Friday, we had our Multi Zone Conference with the Chapala Stake and President Egginton.  After, we headed to Nueva Luneta with other sisters, and did divisions until Saturday afternoon.  Then Sunday, we had to come up with and practice really fast a Special Musical Number for Sacrament meeting with the missionaries.  Be ready to see us in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir next!

Multi Zone Conference

We have an investigator that is named Pablo (Fake Name). He is only 10 years old, and right now he is living with a family that is in the ward.  He has been living there for about 6 months.  He comes from a very very hard background.  In only his 10 years, he has been addicted to drugs and alcohol and we really don't know for how long.  He started to live with this family, and they started to help him, bring him to church and everything.  They are now planning to adopt him.  We have been teaching him for about 3 weeks.  He really is such a great kid and very smart, even though he doesn't know how to read yet.  What worried us is that he can't be baptized right now without his biological parents permission, because he isn't adopted.  Luckily, we found that his parents lived very close to this family, they know each other, and have a good relation. We first met his mom, and she accepted our lessons.  She has been so receptive, and went to church with the family and Pablo!!  And she accepted to be baptized!!! Then, just this week, we met his dad.  At first he really wasn't interested to listen, and told us that he just believes in God, not religions.  But we started to teach, and at the end of the lesson, he told us that he wants to go to church! He also was talking with someone in the street one day, and he asked randomly, "What religion are you!"  The man answered Mormon!! Then the Dad said...."Really? Me too! I want to go to your church."  We ended our lesson yesterday, and they both told us that they want to be baptized!!!!  How wonderful are these miracles that happen!  Pablo is going to be baptized this Saturday, and his real parents along with the adoptive parents are going to come. I left this lesson wanting to cry, feeling maybe how the prophets felt in the book of Mormon when they talked about their joy to see people choose the right. Wow, I just feel so happy! :)

Love you all!!!!!

Hermana Boice

Divisions with Hermanas from Nueva Luneta (I am now a fan of eating limes...just limes).

Semana (Week) 49: Long Short-Cuts, the Sun is HOT, and other Interesting Things...

Hola  Hola!

Today we are going to Uruapan, to go to a Zone Meeting. It's not our stake, but we are the leaders of the sisters that are there.  Tomorrow we have a talk and after we are going to do divisions with them... My first divisions!! Scary as a leader!  But ya, things are going to be super hectic this week, and we aren't going to return until Wednesday in the afternoon.  Then, Friday we have our Multi Zone meeting with President and then we are going to leave for Zacapu to do other divisions with sisters.  We return in Saturday in afternoon.  We are only going to be working like 2 full days in our area! 

Our Leader Counsel in Guadalajara! Got to see lots of my friends!

Funny story time.  We were walking on the sidewalk in the shade, and my comp started to cross the street in the sun.  I felt so hot and burned from the sun that I really didnt want to leave the shade.  I turned and started hugging the side of a house I was facing, saying I didn't want to leave the shade.  Then my comp said, "Hermana! Don't touch the house! there is a sign that says don't touch the house!"  I thought she was joking so I just stayed where I was huggin' the house, which cooled me down a bit. "Seriously Hermana! There is a sign!"  Little did I know that there was actually a sign until she started reading it.  "Don't Touch, Scratch or Stain. There are surveillance cameras and you will be reprimanded for it"... that was when we ran.  Sure hope they didn't get a good look at us, although my hair is not to hard to find in Mexico.

Yesterday, was a bit of a long day.  First, it was Stake Conference and the member of the 70 that was invited brought a knife and showed all of us this knife at the pulpit to make a point that what he was going to say may hurt a bit.  After that it was a little rough. We got to work, and we didn't have a single lesson alllll day. The whole day we walked and walked and walked like the pioneers (I got to experience maybe a tiny bit of what they felt).  At one point, we had to travel about a mile to the next place, but we decided to take a "Short Cut" which ended up being the Longest Cut we could have taken.  We live and we learn.  We got back to the house by the end of the day, and I surprisingly felt good, even though we didn't have much success. Who are we to tell God how the day should be and what should happen, and he gives us these little tests to see how humble and grateful we really are. I am grateful to have these little tests to make me better :)

Love you all!!!

Hermana Boice

Some youth made this!!!! Isn't it awesome??

Semana (Week) 48: Coffee and Half a Body...

Lots and lots of things have happened in this week.  More than anything, I have learned how much of a goofball my companion can be.  I just love her! I think I have almost died from laughing about 3 or 4 times in just this week.  So, don't be surprised if I kick the bucket in the next three weeks.  

This week I transgressed.  It was a transgression because I really didn't know that I was sinning.  We were walking passed some houses and we saw a sign that said popsicle, chocolate covered bananas, etc.  We only just need to look at each other in the eye, and we start walking to knock on the door, money in hand.  (I am prob going to gain weight here, because just in our first day together, we bought pizza, ice-cream, bread, popsicle, and at night we bought some crepes......I was really hungry that day.)  But anyway, we asked for chocolate popsicle, the lady handed them to us, and I started eating.  You know that sometimes chocolate tastes like coffee, but it doesn't have coffee? Well, that's what happened.  I just kept eating, because it was delicious.  My comp just starred at me trying not to laugh, until she said "Hermana, you know that your eating coffee right?"  With the face that I had, you probably would have thought that I just killed someone.  How am I going to teach the Popsicle lady the Word of Wisdom now?

Other funny story.  We were taking a short cut  that is a pathway with lots of tall grass around us.  We were walking until my comp started freaking out, looking at something in the grass.  She was talking so fast and slurred that I didnt understand anything more than "half of a body".  I looked in the grass and only saw pants.  It seriously looked like a dead body!  We both started to laugh and freak out at the same time.  I didn't really know if my comp was laughing or crying.  But long story short, it was just a pair of pants that were laying in the grass.  We started to make a game after looking for the other parts of the "body" and we found a boot 5 seconds later... haha.

Fun Fact!!  Zamora is known for berries, mainly strawberries! They have so many that they hand out pounds for free. I am in Strawberry Heaven!! :-) But I have to wait until October. 

Well, thats all for now! Love you all!!

Hermana Boice