I love Corpus

October 20, 2014

Hey family,

Transfers are this week......I am staying in Corpus Christi with Sister Haynes another transfer! I am so, so happy!! We have a lot of work still to do here, and we're super excited to have another transfer together. :)

Nothing too crazy or exciting happened this week, except I made contact with one of Nate's recent converts! She's not a recent convert anymore obviously, but she is still going strong in the gospel and loves her calling as the librarian. She was super excited to hear about Nate.

Well, this letter was short and sweet. I'm doing great and I am really excited to be in Corpus Christi for a 3rd transfer. I love the people here and I feel so blessed to watch our investigators and members come closer to Christ. The church is true, mis amigos!

Love,

Hermana Angus

Multicultural Experience

October 13, 2014

Hey peeps,

We have one more week until transfers, and Sister Haynes and I are crossing our fingers that we stay together another transfer!
Life is great here in Corpus Christi. We are working hard and seeing lots of miracles! Fun fact: We will be getting iPads in December.
Another fun fact: We saw the movie, "Meet the Mormons" on Thursday! All the missionaries in Laredo and Corpus Christi came together and watched it in the chapel here in Corpus. There were about 100 missionaries together and it was like a great big family reunion! Anyways, "Meet the Mormons" is a great movie that does a lot of myth-busting about who people think Mormons are. It's definitely worth seeing and the stories are so great! I loved it.

I'm having a hard time believing that I'm serving a Spanish mission right now. Only one of our investigators speak Spanish! Our main investigators that we are teaching are: a family from Ghana, another family from Nigeria, and a Hindu family from India!!! When we taught the Indian family, it was the most basic lesson ever. Their house is covered in pictures of Hindu gods and they know nothing about Christianity. When we started teaching the Restoration, we held up a picture of Jesus Christ and the mom said, "Is that your God?" Everyone I've taught so far has been Catholic or atleast familiar with Christianity, so I had to think, "Ok, how do I describe the life of Jesus Christ in super basic terms? How do I explain prophets and apostles?" It was hard! But super duper cool. Corpus Christi is full of different people from different backgrounds. It's great.

I hope you guys have a fantastic week! There are countless blessings from missionary service, and I know that every sacrifice we make for the Lord is worth it. As my MTC teacher would say, "The Lord is a great employer; he pays you in what you need."

Love,
Hermana Angus

The Proposal

October 6, 2014

Dear family,

I loved General Conference! I don't think I've ever loved it more! I just kept thinking, "I can't wait to reread that talk in the Ensign next month." haha. Talk about a geeky missionary... Our recent convert John loved Conference, too. He watched all the sessions and said afterwards, "Those speakers answered all of my questions I've been having in my heart. That was cool."

This was a very interesting. Sister Haynes and I found a new investigator named, Dean. He is 43-year-old, an alcoholic, single, and has had three strokes. I have not seen him sober yet. A few days ago he proposed to me. He told me to leave the mission so we could get married...#nope
We are thinking of handing him over to the Elders because he won't stop flirting. We actually brought John to a lesson (as a member!) and he talked to Dean about joining Alcoholics Anonymous. John made him promise to not drink until noon the next day, when they would go to a 12:00 meeting of AA. And Dean kept his promise! :)
Sister Haynes and I are super impressed with how quickly John has started doing missionary work! We are convinced he will be the Gospel Doctrine teacher one day. Man, we have to come prepared to his lessons!! He asks questions sometimes that Sister Haynes and I just have to say, "We don't know the answer to that question, John. We'll ask around and get back to you." haha.

Sometime I feel like we as members of the church take this gospel for granted. I sure do. There are people out there who just soak it up like a sponge when they are introduced to new things like General Conference, the Ensign, and the church websites. The church has so much to offer and there is so much to learn. I love it, and I love that John loves it. :)

I hope you all have a fantastic week!

Love,
Hermana Angus

General Conference Time!

September 29, 2014
Hey y'all!

Life is good here in Corpus Christi, TX. Sister Haynes and I are doing well and love working together. Some companionships just click, and we are one of those. :)

On Thursday we had Zone Conference! For those of you who don't know the mission lingo, that means the mission president came up from McAllen and held a meeting with about 40 missionaries serving in Corpus. It was about 8 hours long but really great. Because I have been in an English-speaking area for 2 months, I was super nervous that I wouldn't understand my Chilean mission president's Spanish.  But I understood a lot! The gift of tongues is real. My ability to understand Spanish is still improving, even though I don't hear much Spanish right now. Woohoo!

I'm super excited for General Conference this weekend. I loved the General Relief Society Broadcast on Saturday night. It was fun to think that my family was watching the exact same Broadcast at that moment. I loved that the theme was temples! I can't wait for the day when there is a McAllen, Texas Temple. The closest temple is in San Antonio, but there are so many members in McAllen who can't go to the San Antonio because of immigration problems. Maybe there will be a temple announced this weekend....Man, that would be cool!

Anyways, never ever take General Conference for granted. Watch it this weekend!

Les quiero muchisimo.

Con carino,

Hermana Angus

John the Baptized

September 22, 2014
Hey y'all!

This week was EPIC. John was baptized yesterday! Wooooo! This was my first every baptism, and I feel so honored to have been the one to teach John. He was so prepared and the ward absolutely loves him. The service was great and John told us afterwards, "I feel so at peace with my decision. It feel nice." Yay John!

Believe it or not, this week we were pretty worried about whether or not this baptism was going to happen. John is retired, but he hasn't made good financial decisions in the past, so  tithing has always been a sore point for him. In our final visit before the baptismal interview, we were really worried he wouldn't be willing to keep the Law of Tithing. But while we were talking to him, he told us, "I've been thinking about how I'm going to pay my tithing. I don't have a lot of money, so I'm trying to figure out where I can cut back in my expenses. My monthly payment for my truck is the same amount as I would pay toward tithing, so I might sell my truck. I can drive a clunker." Sister Haynes and I just about cried. He then went on to say, "There are bigger sacrifices people make in order to pay their tithing." I just love John. He has taught me so much. :)

In other news, I got eaten alive by mosquitoes on Friday! We had a lesson at 8 o'clock at night in a park, right after it rained..... We were scratching our legs the entire hour we were in the park. I woke up the next morning and my feet looked like I had a disease. People kept pointing them out to me throughout the day, and freaking out.Now I will be wearing tights until my feet don't gross people out. Don't worry Mom, they are on the mend!

Thank you for all of your prayers and sacrifices on my behalf! I love you all so much.
Love

Hermana Angus

Priesthood Power!

September 15, 2014

Dear family,

This week was full of craziness. Sister Haynes and I have been running around like chickens with their heads cut off. One of our members has just been diagnosed with cancer (Lymphoma) and her family is trying to get packed to move back to Idaho this Thursday. The ward has helped a ton by bringing meals over and taking the kids to school and coming over to help pack. Sister Haynes and I have been cleaning the house and doing what we can to help with the move. I can't imagine trying to pack up your home and move your whole family while doing chemotherapy treatments....This woman is amazing. She and her family are a great support to us missionaries, and we are really going to miss them. They have taught us a lot about faith in the Lord and being positive in any circumstance!

Yesterday, one of our recent converts received the priesthood. His name is Andrew and he was baptized in May, but he never felt ready to hold the priesthood before now. He thought it was too big of a responsibility and he honestly didn't want to have to attend church more faithfully. We had been visiting him weekly and we set a goal for him to receive the priesthood last week. Unfortunately he showed up to church wearing basketball shorts, and the branch president told him he would have to wait until next Sunday and look more presentable. We were worried that Andrew would take this as a way out of getting the priesthood, but yesterday he showed up to church in a nice shirt and tie! He said, "I even meant to get a haircut, but I ran out of time." Sister Haynes and I were so happy to see his attitude about the priesthood change. We are excited for him keep progressing!

Random note: I have turned into a total wimp about the weather. It was 71 degrees the other day and I put on a jacket because I was freezing. That's just sick and wrong....

I love y'all! Don't be afraid to share the gospel with people! The world needs this message!

Love,

Hermana Angus

Small World!

September 8, 2014
Hello y'all,

I am not training this transfer (phew!), but I do have a new companion! Her name is Sister Haynes and she is from La Grande, Oregon. Finally someone not from Los Angeles! haha. We actually were in the MTC together and lived in the same house in Mexico City!! We were freaking out when we found out we were going to be companions. But wait, there's more! Crazy connection: Sister Haynes used to live in Boulder, Colorado and is cousins with Denica Hill. We discovered that we knew each other back then and that I actually attended Sister Hayne's 7th birthday party! SMALL WORLD. And now we are companions and it is so fun! We are having a blast together. :)

I really do love this area. John is back in town and has decided to be baptized on September 21! That's in two weeks! Wooooo! This will be my first baptism and Sister Hayne's first baptism ever in the mission. We are super happy and grateful for the opportunity to teach John. I know that this miracle came through prayers and fasting. I'm so grateful for all of you who fasted on the behalf of John. Heavenly Father really does hear our prayers. I love you all! Best family ever :)
Love

Hermana Angus

Estoy entrenando . . . . quisas?

September 1, 2014
Hey everyone!

This week is transfers!! I am staying here in Corpus Christi and Sister Nail is going down to Brownsville! I am super excited to be here another transfer. We are working with some really good investigators and I would have been heartbroken to leave. 

On P-day last week, we went to the Texas State Aquarium! I pet a shark, saw some awesome jelly fish, and watched a dolphin show! We went with our whole district and it was lots of fun. 

I got a call late Thursday night saying that I have been called to train a new missionary!! I didn't sleep a wink that night. I'm just a greenie myself!! Anyways, I drove down to McAllen to attend a trainer's meeting on Friday, and I felt a lot more excited. But then this morning we heard about transfers, and I might not be training this transfer after all.... So I don't quite know what is happening, but tomorrow I will have a new companion, nonetheless. We are going to take Corpus Christi by storm!! 

Also, our boss investigator John comes back this week! He has been gone so long that we worried he would lose interest in the gospel. But we have been keeping in contact with him, and he is excited to keep learning and meeting with the missionaries. Woohoo!

I can't believe it's Labor Day already! Crazy, crazy, crazy. I hope everyone has a good week and enjoys the day off from school! I love y'all. Don't forget to feed your local missionaries. :)

Love,

Hermana Angus

Last Week of the Transfer!

August 25, 2014
Hey family!

This week was a good! Our mission president has to go to Salt Lake for a mission president conference (or something like that) and so this transfer is only five weeks long, instead of six. This will be the last week of the transfer!! Sister Nail has been in Corpus Christi since February, so people keep telling her she's probably leaving. But I hope she stays another transfer so she can continue teaching John and see him be baptized. He's won't be back until after transfers, and it would break everyone's hearts if she left!

I was asked to give a talk in Sacrament meeting yesterday! Hooray for on-the-spot talks!! When I bore my testimony about missionary work and how important it is, I realized just how much my mission is changing me. My testimony just keeps growing and I am learning so much as a missionary. I already love the people here and I appreciate all that the members do to help the work go forward.

Sister Nail and I are working hard in our area! I'm sorry this letter is super short and boring (kind of like last week), but I promise I will have lots to report on next week! Stay tuned! I love y'all!
Love

Hermana Angus

Good People

Hey ya'll,

Nothing super crazy happened this week. Sorry if this letter is a little on the dry side! 

My companion and I found an awesome couple to teach this week! Their names are Joseph and Alicia and they live in our apartment complex. One day we were leaving our apartment and Joseph and Alicia came over to us and said they wanted to talk about our religion. At first we thought the Joseph wanted to bash, but then he started talking about how much respect he has for us missionaries. He sees how we treat everyone we meet and knows we represent Christ. Then he went on to tell us that he and his wife love watching BYUtv and even watched the women's session of General Conference!! What???? We were blown away. They loved the messages that were shared and want to learn more. When we invited them to baptism, they immediately accepted. Woooo!! They have a lot of potential and I am excited to continue teaching them.

There's a family in the ward who is just awesome. They are the Burke family and they have six kids, 3 of which have autism. Brother Burke is the best person ever. He is always coming out with the missionaries to lessons and having our investigators over for dinner, even if we can't make it. He will do absolutely anything to help you. He told us one day, "I'm sorry sisters, I can't take you to lunch. I'm broke. I was taking an old woman's trash to the dump for her and the man who works there wouldn't let me dump the trash without her ID. I got really mad and started yelling and making a fuss. Afterwards I felt really bad and decided to go back and give that man a gift card to Chili's. So that's why I don't have any more money to take you to lunch." I love that man, he's too good.

Overall, I learned that people always watch us as members of the church, even if we don't realize it! We now have two new investigators just because they saw how the missionaries treat people and they recognized the Spirit. So represent Christ well!

I love you all and I hope you have a good week!

Love

Hermana Angus

Bikes and Big Hair

Howdy amigos,

Humidity takes on a whole new meaning here in Corpus! My hair wasn't really poofy when I was in Mission, but here in Corpus my hair is BIG. Like Texas big. But it's fun!

Last week I mentioned our investigator John (he still reminds me of Liam Neeson). He is super solid and just loves the gospel! He used to be an alcoholic, and he has been sober for 14 years! The anniversary of the day he stopped drinking, or his "sober birthday", is September 18th and he is very proud of himself for turning his life around. When he told us that, I asked if he would like to make that day even more special by being baptized on September 18th. He said yes! Wooooo! He's so cool. Unfortunately, he is going on to be in Rhode Island until Labor Day.... But it's ok! He already went on mormon.org and found a church building in Rhode Island to attend while he's gone. Yay!

I think my body is having a hard time adjusting to Southern food. I was used to eating tortillas and beans every day, and my body isn't handling all the red meat and barbeque in Corpus very well.... ANYWAYS... I still really love Corpus! However, my companion is not super coordinated on the bike. One day, we had been biking for not even 30 seconds when my companion took a turn too sharply and just fell off her bike in front of a busy street. She was ok, and I shouldn't have found it so funny, but it just was. The only thing more ridiculous than a girl riding a bike in a helmet and church clothes is a girl falling off her bike while wearing a helmet and church clothes.

I'm having fun here in Corpus Christi! I hope everyone is enjoying their last moments of summer before school starts. I love y'all!

Love,

Hermana (Sister) Angus

Corpus Christi

Howdy y'all!
Hellooooooo from Corpus Christi! It is the Northern-most part of the mission and it is completely different from where I was before. I went from Mexican culture and Mexican food to American culture and barbeque. Corpus is full of white people and hardly any Spanish. Every missionary dreads going to Corpus because your Spanish gets rusty. Great, mine wasn't even good to begin with! We call Corpus the "Great White North". hahaha. When I heard that I was going there, my companion said to me, "Aw man! You're going to Canada!" (Nate, I am in the Everhart area--Corpus Christi Zone). But I really love it here, already. Yeah, the Mexican culture is missing, but Corpus is a cool city. People talk with southern twang and it's fun. We are about 5 miles from the Gulf of Mexico and there is always a breeze. Hallelujah.

I have a new companion and she is awesome! Her name is Sister Nail and she is from Los Angeles. My old companion was from LA, too! She is 22 years old and went to BYU-Idaho. We get along really well and are already having a lot of fun.

Uncle David, you'll never guess who is the Bishop of my ward....Your old companion, Elder Sagers (AKA Clive)! We went over to his house and he looked at my name and asked where my dad was from. I told him Utah and he said, "I served my mission in Taiwan with an Elder Angus from Odgen, Utah." Mind blown. Man, the world is small!

We are teaching a super cool guy named John. He looks and sounds just like Liam Neeson and every time we teach him I feel like I am teaching Batman's martial arts master. He loves reading the Book of Mormon and is already in Jacob. And he has been coming to church every week. Next step: Baptism! The only problem is he is super cautious and doesn't want to make this life long commitment without being 100% certain. So we are being patient with him. But he will get there. He is so awesome and I love teaching him.

Anyways, life is good here in Corpus! I hope y'all have a great week!

Love,

Hermana Angus

pink house-- saying goodbye to mission, tx

doggy-- cute little dog in Corpus and photo bombed by my comp

me and sister nail

TLC

Dear family,

This week was pretty great! We had some fun while tracting, a crazy rainstorm, and an awesome Sunday!

Everyone here asks me where I am from and when I say Colorado, they get really confused. They say, "Where are your parents from?" When I respond, "Utah and California," they get even more confused and finally say, "No, I mean where are your ancestors from? How do you have red hair?" Are your ancestors from Ireland or Scotland?" So many people have asked me this, that my companion and I decided to make tracting a little more interesting....I am now the Scottish missionary! Whenever someone answers the door in English, I start talking to them in a Scottish accent. EVERYONE BELIEVES IT. One guy opened the door, looked at us, didn't say anything, and went to slam the door in our face. I quickly said in my fake Scottish accent, "We're missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!" He opened the door more and said, "Wait, what did you say?" I repeated myself and he said, "Wow, you're not from around here are you? What is a Scottish girl doing in South Texas?" hahaha. He didn't accept our message, but at least he didn't slam the door in our face!

Also, this Sunday a lot of less-active members in our area came to church! This whole transfer we have been going by their homes and letting them know that we care for them. It's amazing what a little TLC can do, because this week three of our less-active families came to church!! That's amazing. My companion and I just couldn't stop smiling during church.

Anyways, I guess the main thing I learned this week is that it's really important to show people that you love them. These people just needed to know that someone cares for them and their situation. I am loving being a missionary more and more each day! Have a great week!

Love,

Hermana Angus

rain storm!

Why did the chicken cross the road? haha. Also notice, the stray dogs in the background. They are everywhere.

cute random puppy who followed us while tracting

flat tire

Animo!

Hey y'all,

This week was pretty different from the previous weeks because 1) the weather was rainy and awesome 2) we had tons of meal appointments! But not your usual one-per-day meal appointments....

For the first two weeks in the ward, our members never fed us. My companion said it was normal to have a dinner appointment once a week. But then this week we had multiple meal appointments every day.... At first, my companion and I were super excited while looking at our meal calendar (it was fast Sunday and we were starving). Families had signed up for every night. So each day we went out to work thinking we were going to eat one dinner like normal human beings. But then at each member's house we would visit, they had food prepared and the table set for us. My companion and I ate three dinners on Thursday. Ugh...... Our days mainly consisted of an unscheduled meal at 4 o'clock, another surprise meal 5 o'clock, and then our actual scheduled dinner at 6 o'clock. Good thing we were on bikes!!!! While biking, my companion told me, "I'm pretty sure this is what pregnancy feels like."  hahaha. Don't get me wrong, I am super grateful for all of the love we are receiving from our members! I just wish my stomach was bigger!

I am so grateful for everyone's support for me out here on the mission. A few weeks ago I wrote about how hard things were down here, and I received tons of letters and words of encouragement from back home! You guys are so great. I am doing a lot better know and I am loving the work. We still don't have any investigators, but my companion and I are working hard to have, as they say in Spanish, ANIMO! I love you all!

Con amor,

Hermana Angus

Only English, por favor

Hey family,

This week was a ton better! Sorry my last letter was such a dud. I finally feel like I am getting the hang of missionary life and I am a lot happier! Do you like the title of my email? Its Spanglish, just like South Texas. I have noticed a lot this week that people don't want to speak Spanish to me. I try talking to someone in Spanish and this is how the conversation goes:

"Hola, como esta?"

"Good."

"Podemos compartir un mensaje?"

"Sure."

"Somos misioneras de la iglesia de Jesucristo de los santos de los ultimos dias."

"Great, I'm Catholic."

I literally try everything to get them to speak to me in Spanish and people answer me in English. I asked my companion if that happened with her other companion, and she said no! Her other companion was from Peru and everyone talked to them in Spanish. But now that they see a gringa missionary, they want to practice their English with me. I even sat down with a family and started teaching in Spanish and they cut me off mid-sentence and said, "No, no, no! We understand English! Teach in English." If people keep doing this to me, I am never going to learn Spanish!!

My companion encourages me to teach most of the lessons (when the person lets me speak Spanish to them), and I get so scared that they going to judge my Spanish. I was looking through some notes I took at church a while ago, and I found a super great quote: "Our Heavenly Father cares more about our growth than our comfort."

Ain't that the truth!

Speaking of growth and uncomfortable situations, the Bishop of the Spanish ward invited me to share my testimony in Sacrament meeting yesterday...I think the primary kids did better than me, but I just stated what I knew was true. It was a plain and simple testimony!

Anyways, that's all I got for you this week. I love the gospel more and more each day. I know that God puts us through hard things so that we can grow and improve. I love you all!

Love,

Hermana Angus

Slow Week

Hola!

I am going to be super honest and say that this week was pretty rough. Every day was full of challenges. We don't have any investigators and no one is really interested in our message. There is a lot of darkness in the world, I feel like this gospel is such a light. And the job of a missionary is to proclaim to the world, "Hey everyone! I have a candle! Do you want a candle, too!? Everyone take a candle!" You would think everyone would want one, but no one does. But I have faith that there is someone in our area who really does want this light in there life. We just have to find them.

But on the bright side, I am still not sunburned!!

The World Cup is huge down here, so that is all I have been hearing about. People even wore Mexico jerseys to church yesterday! Crazy.

I hope you all our shining your light for all of the world to see!

Love

Hermana Angus

P.S. Be an awesome person and offer water to your local missionaries. Its hot outside!

Hello from Texas!

Hey y'all!

I am in Mission, Texas! (Nate, I am in Palmhurst West area, Hidalgo Zone). For those of you who aren't Nate and didn't serve in this very mission, it is right next to McAllen and about 15 minutes away from the border of Mexico. It is super confusing because the wards are Mission 1st, Mission 2nd...and I keep thinking that these are wards just for missionaries! Its weird. Anyways, my trainer is super awesome and is really patient with me. She is Latina and from Los Angeles and her name is Hermana Vasquez. Her Spanish is beautiful, so I am hoping I know I will learn a lot from her. I love her so much already. I hope she loves me back because she is stuck with me for 12 weeks!

The heat and humidity down here is crazy. Holy smokes, I have never sweated so much, especially because we bike all day. But I have been super duper careful about wearing sunscreen and I am not sunburned at all. Wooooo! I count that as a miracle. I live in an apartment with my companion and two other sister missionaries. Between the four of us, we have one car that we take turns using. I have been proselyting on a bike and in a car, and I have to say, biking is so much better. It is more fun and you get to talk to people on the streets. It would be kind of weird to stop the car and roll down the windows to ask someone if they want to hear a message about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Haha. So biking is a hundred times better. Biking in a skirt is actually pretty easy, but we do look ridiculous. I cannot count how many times people have driven past us and then done a double-take and laughed...But its all good!

In the one week I have been here, I have developed a fear of dogs. The dogs down here are big and mean. We will be walking down a street when three or four huge dogs will start following us down the street and biting at our heels. Its terrifying. But I am getting good at growling back and taking my bag off my shoulder to whack them.... So that's fun!

I love the people and the culture down here. Latinos are super friendly and are never rude. Even if they aren't interested in what you have to say, they will offer you water and let you cool off in there house. The only people who have been rude are the few white people down here. Sorry for the generalization... They say the most racist things to my companion and I get so mad!! But she is so forgiving and loving and doesn't let anything get to her.

Yesterday was my first Sunday and everyone at church greets each other with that kissy-thing on the cheek. I have never been kissed so much in my life. And they all like my hair. I also have never had so many people touch my hair. Church was fun and I love how patient they all were with my Spanish. Man, my Spanish is terrible. But I will get there.

Every day I witness little miracles. Right now we don't have any investigators, but I see blessings every day. I cant even explain, but I just receive little promptings all the time that let me know that Heavenly Father is aware of me and guiding me. Being a missionary is hard, but the blessings are awesome. I love you all!

Love,

Maddie

4 am at the airport, the letter, our noble steeds, and my hair! It looks pretty normal here in Tejas! Surprising

I made it to McAllen:)

I made it McAllen! It is ridiculously hot and humid. So so so hot and so so so humid. Hermana Hunter looked at my face after we walked from the car to the church building and she said, "Dude, your face is so red!" Aye aye aye. Anyways, I am still super excited! I put my bike together and I am ready to go. But I won't know where I am going or who my trainer is until tomorrow morning. I love you all! 

Con amor,

Maddie

Final pictures from Mexico

I love this one artist that's work is hung up all around one of the buildings. These are my favorite paintings. 

Last Pday together. We went to the tienda and bought ice cream. And then the elders wanted to ride these weird Mexican bikes. 

Missionary feet are nasty (oh, and a letter from the Prophet to me!)

Hey everyone!

This week was full of craziness!! I dont even know where to begin.... Well, I don´t know how to  transition, so I am just going to say it: I got a personal letter from Thomas S. Monson. I got a legit letter from the prophet!!!!!!!!! Let me explain. In 2005, I got the opportunity to meet him at a family camp called Aspen Grove. He told me to serve a mission and that "redheads make the work go faster". So before I went to the MTC I wrote him a letter telling him that I was doing as he said and serving a mission. Then on Monday I got a letter addressed to Sister Angus saying "Thank you for your touching letter and picture. I am glad I got to meet you and your father at Aspen Grove in 2005." He said a lot more, but in closing he said, "I am praying for you and your companion. Sincerely your brother, Thomas S. Monson". I about passed out. My hands were shaking. My companion said, "Yes! The prophet is praying for us!!! Blessings galore!" I am still in shock. Is this real life? I meant to take a picture of the letter, but I will next time. 

I don´t know how anything in my mission will top that experience, but in other news, one of the elders in my district broke his big toe this week! We were playing beach volleyball and he got a little carried away and broke his toe on sand....It swelled so fast!! The knuckle of his toe was the size of a gumball. He was taken to an Xray center in Mexico City and the xray was only $300 pesos. Thats about $28 US dollars. Crazy! Anyways, we do a lot of walking at the CCM, so the doctors made him use a wheel chair. Everyone, including this Elder, thought it was ridiculous to use a wheelchair for a broken toe. He got really good at doing wheelies and almost killed himself by trying to go down the stairs in his wheelchair. Boys are dumb. Then Hermana Collins´s toe nails started falling off this week....Not sure why! But each of them is falling off, one by one. Missionary feet are nasty. My feet are so blistered and scabbed and scarred. Mom, please schedule my pedicure for November 2015. I cant even imagine how ugly they will be by then...

Since this is my last week at the CCM, our whole district decided to go a day speaking entirely Spanish. We wore tags that said Solo Español and it was sooooo hard!!! But it was surprising much I could communicate in my broken Spanish.

I told you this week was crazy! Another story: last night the CCM flooded. Literally flooded. Everyone was in the auditorium watching a devotional that was being broadcasted from the Provo MTC when rain came pouring into the room. The elders grabbed mops and anything they could find to try to get the water out of the auditorium, but it just kept coming! The doors were closed, but it didn´t matter. Somehow the water got in. Once the devotional was over, I looked at the floor at the base of the auditorium and it was about a foot deep. It looked like a kiddy pool. We were dismissed early for the night because of the flooding, so the other hermanas and myself decided to go puddle jumping! It was soooo fun to just cut loose for a few minutes. Lifes about learning to dance in the rain, right? 

None of these stories were very spiritual, but I have learned so much while being at the CCM. I am really sad at the thought of leaving. I love my district so much and I love the atmosphere here. But at the same time, I am super excited to go to Texas! It´s finally time! I love being a missionary and I know that this work is God´s work. I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and that through him, we can overcome anything in this life. Have a good week!

Love,

Hermana Angus

One Month

Hey y'all!

I can´t believe I have been at the CCM for a month already! This week just flew by. I am a little sad at the thought of leaving soon. But at the same time, I am excited to get to Texas. Two more weeks!

This week has been pretty chilly here in Mexico. Our teacher told us that the summer months are April and May, so now we are in the rainy season... I thought coming to Mexico was going to prepare me for the heat in Texas...I guess not!! 

Some Latino elders always try to talk to me in English. These elders pass me all the time and say, "Hi!" in a kind of girly voice. For the first few weeks I thought they were mocking me for being a gringa, so I would just greet them in Spanish. But then I realized that all the Latinos here are trying to learn English while us North Americans are trying to learn Spanish. So this week when those elders said passed and said, "Hi" to me, I finally gave in a said "Hi" back. They were surprised and then said "How are you?". This went on for a minute of us trying to communicate in simple English. As I walked away, they all started cheering "Yeah!!!!" and giving high fives. I guess they get just as excited about speaking to native English speaking as we get about speaking to native Spanish speakers! 

This week, one of the hermanas in my district was super confused on some grammar we were learning. She was frustrated and yelled, "Why can´t everyone just speak the same language?!?" Our sassy Latino teacher looked at her and said, "¨Hermana, the tower of Babel is not my fault.¨ But it´s true. Spanish can be frustrating with how detailed it is. I have noticed that during Spanish class, I don´t really remember much of what I learn. But while I am teaching my investigator, I can remember a ton of Spanish! I even remember words I have only seen on paper one time. The Spirit is a huge help when trying to learn Spanish!

The church is true and I love you all! Hasta luego!

Con amor,

Hermana Angus

I love to see the temple!

Hola!

Today I went with my district to the Mexico City temple! We couldn´t actually go through the temple because it is under construction for the next year and half. They are working on making it earthquake proof. But it was so great to go to the visitors center and just be in the city! I wish we could have seen more of the city, but I still loved it. 

We experienced another earthquake this week. And I slept through it again!!!! I was so disappointed. Why do I have to be so good at sleeping?? For the first time in my life, I love having a bedtime. When 1030 rolls around, I am so excited to jump in bed and go to sleep. My family is shocked, I am sure.

This week, our district got two new elders from the Provo MTC. They are going to Ecuador but couldnt get their visas until now. They are pretty cool. They said that the Mexico MTC is different and harder than Provo, because the teachers talk so fast and are natives. In Provo their teachers were gringos who talked slowly for them. I agree, it can be pretty difficult to understand what our teachers are saying because they talk so fast, but I am getting better at keeping up. I love my instructors. They are so fun and make the sassiest comments in class. Mexicans are witty! 

We had a crazy rain storm this week! It came out of nowhere and just started pouring. There was a leak in our classroom ceiling, so our floor was flooded the next morning. Esta bien, it´s all part of the experience! However, I heard that one of the sister missionaries slipped in the rain and shattered her knee cap. She was flown to Dallas, TX for surgery. I would have been so bummed if that was me!! 

I am beginning to realize how hard goodbyes are while at the CCM. The people I meet here are going to different parts of the world and I will never see them again. Our district liked to play soccer with a Latino district that left this week. While saying goodbye, they said, ¨Jugaremos futbol en el cielo¨, which means, ¨We will play soccer in heaven.¨ So sad!! 

Anyways, I am loving the CCM. Being a missionary is a very special experience and I can tell that I am growing as a person. My Spanish and my testimony improves each day.

I love you all!

Con amor,

Hermana Angus