We had Elder Oaks come and visit this weekend, which was fun with the translator because I laughed before everyone else.

I think that Elder Oaks needs to come to our mission more often, because the weekend he was here we had some miracles.

Yesterday, we went to visit investigators with some members and the mother of the wife decided to come and join us for the lesson for the first time ever. The moment she sat down she started to cry. She told us she was in the backroom wondering and praying if she should join us or not and right as she was doing that the Book of Mormon that was in the room suddenly fell, and it was not in a position where that could´ve happened. Then she told us she had a vision of a man dressed in white and she asked him if he wanted her to get baptised and he said yes and she asked if she could wait a bit and he said yes but not to wait too long, and she also had a vision of a baptismal font, describing one perfectly, and she has never been to church once! She was crying during the whole lesson and one of the members gave her a blessing. She wants so badly to get baptised! 

I love this mission. I love all the blessings here!

The picture with me and the guitar is me and my companion on p day, one of the elders has a guitar and i got to play it a little bit which was really nice.

Hermana Brooks

First Baptism!

My first baptism in the mission! 

This woman learned about the church through her next door neighbor. She literally has a heart of absolute gold and has such strong desires to follow Jesus Christ. When she was baptized yesterday, the heater wasn't working for the water, and not only was the water cold but she has almost a fear of cold water. my companion and I heard her praying as she walked into the font "ayudame ayudame" which means, "help me help me". The Bishop baptized her, it was pretty awesome

Also we saw some less actives that we had visited come to church yesterday, which just feels amazing. I love Mexico so much!

Love you all!

Pues (So), I´ve had almost a full month here in Mexico! Crazy!

The language is really hard. I´ll say something and the people will have no idea what I said, and my companion will say the EXACT SAME THING, same wording and everything, and they understand. It´s hard. Also, it´s crazy because not only do I have to learn Spanish fluently, but I have to teach my companion English. I have a huge responsibility to do that because it´s completely possible that i could be her only american companion and I´m her only chance to learn English, which means better job, better house, better oportunities, better future.

This past week we did a lot of teaching this one family. We went with the bishop and had planned to teach the Word of Wisdom because the father drinks and smokes. When we got there, turned out their sister in-law, who we´ve never met before and isn't a member was there. We started to teach the lesson, and I was a bit nervous because the Word of Wisdom isn't something I´d talk about the first thing with someone i´d just met, but she was totally into the conversation and contributing and it was awesome. Then at the end, the bishop explained what a blessing was and offered her one (She has cancer) and she said yes and it was really beautiful.

I love mexico! 

I want so bad to understand these people. It´s really an amazing place

BTW, I was 100% aware yesterday was the Super Bowl, and so was all of Mexico. 

Mas Mexico

Hola mundo!  [ Hello World!]

I´m finalmente empiezando a aprendir esta idioma [finally beginning to learn this language]. A veces [At times], people will talk to me in ingles [English] and i won´t realize a difference until later and sometimes I will say something to someone in inglish [English] and I have no idea until they look at me weird.

This past week we got to go to the temple, which I´m convinced is the most beautiful temple in the world. We did a lot of contacting this week and a lot of teaching. 

Also we did a service project helping one of the members at her house. She needed some trees cleared and so the elders started a mini forest fire while the hermanas cleaned her kitchen and helped her make tamales, the picture is of me making tamales with them. 

We had our first ever zone conference and MTC training in the field (its when we go to the office for an MTC like training session), it was pretty nice because I got to see my companion from the MTC again and other sisters I missed.

Something I´ve learned from being here is how important it is to listen, not just to what people are saying, but why they´re saying it too.

We have a baptism coming up Febrero 9 and a family getting baptized Febrero 15. Tambien [Also], Elder Oaks va a venir a mi estaca in febrero entonces [is coming to my Stake in February so] we´re all super excited and there´s going to be a special stake conferencia [conference] that fin de semana for eso [weekend for that]. I think the missionaries are going to get a special meeting with him, which will be really cool.

There´s a picture of me here eating my first ever taco in mexico. 

Also another picture of me with the sister I went on splits with, she speaks less English than my companion, but thankfully by the time we had splits I knew enough to communicate to her in Spanish.

Spanish is hard but I´m learning so fast!

SO the other day my companion was like, ¨Quiere ver [Want to see] a cool way to contact?" and i was like "Sure" and the next person she sees, she says, "Excuse me, can I share a escriptura [scripture]?" and they said. "Yes", and she read a verse from the Libro de Mormon.

Well that got me super excited and later we see these too guys and I said "¿Podemos compartir una escritura?" [Can we share a scripture?],  "Si" and so my companion reads Ether 12:4 and their eyes go super wide, like WOW wide and i dije [said] "Quieren Mas? [Do you want more]" and they were like "SI!!!!!!!!!" and we read verse 6 and then we talked about the Libro de Mormon and gave them each a copy.

Fabulous way to share the scriptures!

Love you all! And everyone do missionary work and spread the Gospel!

Hermana Brooks

Happy Birthday to me in MEXICO!

I LOVE MEXICO

I don´t even know where to begin

My zone completely surprised me with a pink birthday cake during our zone meeting! I love the missionaries here!

And then on my actual birthday we visited a family in a ward and there was this little old lady, she may just be 70 or 80, and right when she saw us she ran as fast as her legs would carry her and got the pictures of the missionaries that baptized her in 1974 and she starts to tell us about how she´s never been inactive once since her baptism! 

And then one of the members got me a giant chocolate cake!

I had my first real Sunday in the ward. That was so great!

This morning I went to the temple for the first time on my mission! I´m convinced the Mexico Monterrey Temple is the most beautiful in the world, inside and out!

The people here are my favorite, especially the members. And my investigators too, I like them  We have one investigator who we´re teaching English and the gospel at the same time, which is difficult to juggle but I LOVE THAT GIRL so much! I love it here

Sorry I don´t have much time to write!

Love you all! It is such a blessing to be here!

Hermana Julie Brooks

First week in the Mexico!

I´M IN MEXICO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mexico mexico mexico mexico mexico

I got here last Monday and that night the new hermanas and I stayed at the house of the mission president. The next day we found out who are new companions are and where we´re serving.

My companion´s name is Hermana Alcocer. She´s 23, from Mexico City, and was baptized 3 years ago. She´s not the greatest at English, but my Spanish isn´t exactly something I brag about either. She´s been out for a year now.

We´re serving in a place called Escobedo, a suburb. We´re both new to the area, entonces [then] it´s interesting how it works because I´m fabulous at directions and my companion is horrible with directions, but she can speak the language whereas I can´t. Our first day in our area we got lost, but it´s ok because I ate my first Mexican tacos and I HAVE NEVER HAD BETTER TACOS IN MY LIFE. I even took pictures.

The members here are AMAZING! Like, I love them so much! They are so kind and considerate and wow.

 

We have some really great investigators. First, we´ve taken over after the Hermanas who were here before us and their only investigators were a 73 year old man, who we taught the other day and long story short he´s getting baptized this Sunday, and a couple who are pretty much the coolest people I have ever met in my life. They have 5 kids, the oldest 2 have been baptized, and the youngest, their 2 month old son, is named Lehi after the Book of Mormon prophet. I am not kidding. They want to be baptized but the problem is that they´re living together and not married and not only do they have to pay to get married but the ¨wife¨was married once before entonces[then] she needs to pay for a divorce. Yesterday, we went to teach them, which is weird because it feels like we´re teaching members, so we taught them about sharing the gospel with their family and friends and right when the lesson ended the wife took us to her mom´s house and we taught her mom and two of her brothers and invited them all to be baptized and they said yes! AMAZING

Our second day, we were looking for the house of the family I just wrote about when someone asked us to come and teach her. Turns out she´s the niece of the ¨husband¨ of that family and has listened to the missionaries and she and her ¨husband¨ want to be baptized, they have to get married first too. (in mexico, it costs 800 pesos to get married, take a moment america and count your blessings.) We invited them to stake conference this weekend and they came to both sessions! They´re so amazing!

Some of the people here are so poor, like I have never personally witnesses poorer circumstances in my life. It is amazing to me to witness their faith and the service they give, like really it´s amazing.

The thing about mexico is it either smells really really really bad, or really really really good. The food here is AMAZING, and smells it. I had no idea corn tortillas actually tasted good. However, Mexicans love their animals. In the past week, I´ve seen about 20 horses, 500 plus cats (dead rotting ones included) and 1000 plus dogs. and there is poop, everywhere. Lots and lots of poop. Entonces[then], either really bad or really good.

Also the milk is amazing. 

Whats really interesting about Mexicans is that in all the ads, the people look Mexican, but all of them are white Mexican. Everyone stares at me wherever I go. Last week, my companion and I are walking down the calle[street] when we start to pass these two woman, and they see me and call all their kids and whole family to come see me and start touching my hair (yes, I was weirded out). This one 20 year old girl comes out of the house (turns out the women were sisters and this is their neice) and no lie she has bleached blonde hair and is wearing blue colored contacts and I think she was wearing make up to make her skin look lighter. I was like a celebrity to her. I offered to teach her English if I could teach her the lessons too and she was so excited! Hooray for gringa-ness! En seriox[Seriously], I am constantly asked if my hair is actually red.

I love Mexico. I love it I love it I love it

And I love all of you! 

Adios from Mexico! (pictures to come in a moment) [I think she had to log off before she could send pictures, because we didn't get any]

Love, Hermana Brooks

Arrived in Mexico!

Hola! ¿como estan? this keyboard is different.

I arrived in Mexico at about 5 or 6 ayer (yesterday). I don´t know my new companion, I´ll meet her in an hour or so. I don´t even know her name. 

By the way, I´m having Costco pizza for lunch, and I had Costco for breakfast, and lasagna last night. We´re REALLY Mexican here in Mexico.

La noche pasada (last night), the hermanas and I stayed at our Mission President's house. It was really nice. It´s so cold here in Monterrey, it was 1 degree out this morning, which is REALLY cold in Monterrey.

By the way, my Mission president and his wife have been serving for 18 months and the hermanas and I are the last group of missionaries who will have them for our whole missions! They´re super amazing. 

My Preparation dia (day) is on Monday, except once every transfer we use Monday to go to the temple - on those days my Preparation dia is Wednesday. This should happen once every six weeks.

 

They gave us the low down on mail last night. If you send anything to Mexico, put a picture of Jesus or the Virgin Mary on it. Mexicans think if your mail is holy its bad luck to open it. Also, if you send a package, you have to write on the outside whats in it but BE VAGUE. For example, instead of saying, "a skirt, candy, etc..." say something like "missionary supplies" because you do not want someone looking at it thinking, "Oh, my wife could use a skirt or I would like some candy," ¿entiende? (Understand?)

Mexico is amazing, like unbelievable. I can´t wait to email you again. 

I love you all, and yes I´m safe.

Les Amo mucho!!!!

Hermana Brooks