Being A Real Fork and Ode to Joy

Buenas!  So this week was really good!  It started out a little rough but turned around really quickly.  We had a multizone conference with Presidente and Hermana Ruiz.  It was so cool!   Presidente is so inspired!  Hermana Cervantes and I have been struggling to know what to do with a certain investigator.  So we asked him for advice and he gave us a fantastic, yet simple answer.   And it seemed so obviously the right thing to do, it left us wondering why the heck didn’t we think of it ourselves!  This conference was exactly what I needed to recharge me!   Hermana Ruiz gave an analogy that I loved.  She told us that missionaries are like forks.  Some are made of plastic and some metal.  Both do the same thing, but when one of them is put under pressure - he breaks.  She told us:  BE A REAL FORK!  (everyone hates plastic forks anyway!)

So, something really funny happened this week.  We went to visit a viejita and her grandsons.  They’re teenagers that think their way cool and chollo and stuff haha.  The younger one told us he lives “on the street” and he has one ear pierced.  He’s 13.  Anyway, they’re with us trying to be all cool, when the 13 year old whips out 2 recorders (these toy instruments you learn to play in 5th grade) and starts playing them both at the same time, one in each hand!   And he’s playing “Ode to Joy”!   And I’m like dying laughing because this kid has 2 recorders in his mouth playing Ode to Joy flawlessly with both hands at the same time.  The other people with us (there were 6 of us) were all talking and didn’t notice that the Beethoven of the World’s Cheapest Instrument was with us.  So I’m laughing so hard by myself haha and no one realized for like 2 minutes.  And then they laughed with me.  It’s probably a “had to be there” moment!!!

Anyway...I turned 6 months old in the mission!  I can’t believe I’ve been gone for this long.  To be honest, I never thought I would make it this far.  But I’m still alive and kickin’ trasera (google translate says this means “rear”) here in Merida.   I thought that as a way to commemorate my 6 months here I could share 6 things that I have learned while I’m here.  You all know I love to make lists, so here we go again folks.

1. I have been so incredibly blessed.  Everyday, I am thankful for the parents who raised me, the house I grew up in, the siblings I love, and the childhood I had.  I cannot begin to describe how much my love for my family has grown over the past 6 months.  Actually yesterday in Church we talked about families and I cried.  (I can no longer count on one hand the number of times I have cried in the mission - if I had a hand with 6 fingers I could, but I don’t so I have to use 2 hands).
2. I know how to navigate the Meridian bus system.  Just like a native I pay my 7 pesos, take my seat, yell “baja” one block before my stop and step down the stairs onto the curb WITH STYLE.  My first time on a bus in Merida I was very scared and confused But now I know the routes in this part of the city. BUSES FOR DAYS! 
3. I WAS BORN TO BE A YUCATECA!  I love the Yucatan.  I love the culture.  I love the food.  I love the people.  I am even starting to like the music a little bit more.  (At home, when you drive through Escondido, all of the radio stations switch to music from across the border.  I hated it and used to change the station immediately lol so this is quite a change for me.)
4. I’ve gotten really good at hand washing clothes.  It sucks but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
5. SPANISH!  I can communicate relatively well with people who speak absolutely no English!  Lately, my dreams have been mostly English but usually there’s a little bit of Spanish in there.  And when I think of things that happened in the past, for example, if I think of something someone said to me sometimes I think of it in Spanish.  Then remember “oh wait, we were speaking English.”
6. Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer.   So many times over these past 6 months I have felt my burdens lightened and my Spirit strengthened.  He has brought peace to my soul when I have felt hopeless, rejected and exhausted.  I absolutely cannot do this alone.  And I don’t need to, because the Savior is always right beside me.

I love you all!  Have a great week :)

Hermana Keeler

My Beloved Hammock turned on me

Buenas!  So my body hated me this week.  My legs and back and neck have been legit killing me.  My right calf and my left knee have been giving me problems.  And then my back and neck have been hurting because of my hammock.  My beloved hammock turned on me!  In a hammock you can’t lay flat and after months of never lying flat, I’m starting to feel the effects.  But I raised my hammock so that it’s more flat now.  It’s actually pretty high.  When I sit on it my feet don’t touch the ground ( but I guess that not really impressive because my feet don’t touch the ground in most chairs.)  Let’s hope I don’t fall off in the middle of the night!

But this week was good.  It’s going by a lot faster now!  This Friday I complete 6 months in the mission!  Wow!  I can’t believe that I’m already 1/3 of the way done!  I still don’t speak Spanish as well as I thought I was going to at this point.  If there’s anything  I’ve learned here: it’s patience!

So I’ve come to a certain conclusion.  You know the concept of a dopleganger?  Someone that looks exactly like you?  Well, I’m pretty convinced that there’s a Mexican version of everyone I know.  It’s way funny actually.  There have been lots of people that I’ve seen and thought “wow, they look really familiar.. but I’m positive I don’t know her...”  Then it hits me, it’s the Mexican version of the girl I sat next to in Pre-Calc Sophomore year.

So people have asked a bit about the people.  It’s really hard to describe the people, so I’ll give a few examples of some people we visit frequently and are just awesome.

1. Bishop Pech - Bishop is the best!  He’s way dedicated to the ward and is ALWAYS willing to help us.  He’s learning English so I always speak to him in English.  Sometimes he calls me teacher haha!  And he’s awesome because he always laughs at my jokes.
2. Hermana Jazim:  When we lived in our other house we called her for legit everything.  And when we go over to her house she makes us food.  She has a daughter in the mission so she sympathizes with us :)  Now we live far from her so we don’t see her as often.  But we still find our way over there every once in a while.
3. Hermana Gongora:  She’s 76 or something like that and her husband has Parkinsons, I think.  She’s TINY and is always happy.  We always visit her and start to help her clean or something, but she always gets “mad’ at us and tells us to sit down but we never do.   Usually she just accepts it and lets us help her.  She’s way cute and loves to sing hymns with us.
4. Miguel:  Miguel is a viejito that lives alone in a one room cinderblock and aluminum house (it’s really more like a fort than a house - it reminds me of pueblo). He can’t really walk.  Whenever we go to visit him he pretends (well I think he’s pretending) that he’s still ticked there are sisters in the area instead of elders and that he doesn’t want to talk to us.  In writing, he sounds mean haha!  But the way he says everything is so funny and his laugh kills me haha!


There are lots more awesome people I know but these are a few of my favorites :)  It’s so fun to be friends with the members!  All of you : Be nice to the Missionaries!  Give them cold water and ask them about their families!  It’ll make them feel like you care!


So I’m going to leave you with a spiritual thought.  One of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon is Mosiah 24: 14-15.  But I like it in Spanish.  “Yo, el Senor Dios, visito a mi pueblo en sus afflicciones”  Which means, “I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions”.  But in Spanish it says, “pueblo” instead of “people”.  I like this a lot because pueblo has a different meaning for me now.  Everyone that’s from a pueblo claims their pueblo.  People say “My Pueblo”  when referring to where they’re from.  The pueblo where people are from is a way big part of their lives.  It’s super important.  And really is part of their identity.


I like to think that I’m a part of Heavenly Father’s pueblo!  It’s something special!  Something personal.  And something from the heart.  All of us - as children of God - are born in His pueblo.  It’s our choice if we’re going to cherish our roots or not.  It’s our choice if we’re going to own it - that we’re from His pueblo - or if we are going to hide it.


I love you all!  Que tengan una semana bonita!


Love,
Hermana Keeler 


Two more of her favorites!




Trying to get their gel nail polish off with band aids because they didn't have cotton balls!  The struggles of mission life!

The Mission is the Ultimate Thrill Ride

Buenas! So this week was really good but also really hard.  I’ve found that if a week isn’t physically hard, it’s usually mentally or spiritually or emotionally trying.  But then sometimes it’s both!  And that was this week!

But we ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS see  la mano del Senor en tiempos dificiles.  We met an investigator on the bus two weeks ago, and we have “coincidentally” seen him throughout the city four times since we met.  I say coincidence with the exact opposite meaning of the word.  There are no coincidences in the mission!  We saw him on the street near an investigators house, later he saw us somewhere but we didn’t see him, then we walked immediately in front of his house (and we had no idea where he lived) and then he walked past our house the next day!  If we didn’t get the message the first time, we got it now.  There’s something we have to teach or learn or experience, now we just need to find out what it is :)

I saw another miracle this week!  On Friday we had to go to the mission offices in the morning.  We were about to leave when I saw the branch president of Oxkutzcab, Presidente Villareal, walk into Presidente Ruiz’s office.  I was like what the heck?  So I turned the corner to the area where people wait and sitting there were his daughters!  Lisa and Karen are way cute and were like my sisters!  On my list of favorite people they’re like equal with Hermano Tigre (and that’s pretty high!)  I literally cried when I saw them!  And Lisa cried too haha.  I was so happy to see them!  All of my memories from Oxkutzcab came flooding back and I got super nostalgic.

Okay two more awesome things happened!  Two people just showed up a church wanting to learn more!  They were really receptive and it was way cool!  They literally found us!  None of our investigators come to church and then two just show up out of nowhere.  It was way cool.

Lots of really great things happened this week!  Sunday in both wards the Primary learned about missionary work.  So we came in and shared our experiences and stuff.  I was sitting next to a little girl and thought to myself, “Wow, I’m the missionary and not the little girl!”  Because honestly sometimes I feel like the little girl.  But then I remember that I’m serving a mission in Mexico, I sleep in a hammock and my shower is a bucket and a bowl.  And then I realize I’m definitely not that little girl anymore!

The mission is HARD!  Really hard!  It’s like one of those rides that’s just a really high tower and shoots you up really fast and it’s fun, but also really scary and also leaves you feeling kind of sick but also exhilarated at the same time.  But it’s like riding that ride 20 times a day when all you want to do is sleep.  The highs are high and the lows are low (her favorite saying!)...But it’s an exciting ride!

I love you all!  Say your prayers!  Thank God for all your blessings!

Have a great week!

Love,  

Hermana Keeler

She would love to hear from everyone!  If you get a chance, drop her a quick email!  

The link is on the sidebar! 

The best of Mexican food and American food combined... Pizza al Pastor!

I know she's changing!  She definitely didn't drink soda before the mission!

Always with the little kids! 

They were able to take an excursion to the capitol this morning!

Another baptism and a bag of brujeria!

Buenas!  Well, this week was really great!  First off, we had a baptism!  His name is Rodrigo and he’s nine.  He’s hilarious, haha!  His mom is a member but doesn’t go to church, he goes with his grandparents.  His grandpa was recently baptized too.  But that was really great.  He’s a good 

kid :)

Lots of people look down on “kid baptisms” because they say they aren’t “real” converts, but I completely disagree!  “The worth of souls is great in the sight of God” and that means EVERY soul ... even kids.  Also, kids are way more willing to follow the example of Jesus Christ than most adults.  We went to clean the church and Rodrigo had his interview for his baptism at the same time, but he wanted to stay after and help us clean!  And he was so happy to be helping us.  It was really cute.

This week we had CAMBIOS.   And guess what?  Hermana Cervantes and I are staying! Woo!  We’re so glad because we’ve found so many new people to teach lately.  We have so much work to do.  And we both know the area and the people so we can keep the work going!  So we’re pretty excited. 

Ok, something super weird happened this week.  We went to our district meeting on Tuesday and outside the church we noticed there was a clear plastic bag with something red inside.  This really wasn’t that strange because we leave our trash on the sidewalk and people come pick it up.  But, upon further examination, I realized there were chicken feet inside!   And then I realized there was a whole dead chicken attached to the feet.  And then I realized there was a dead pigeon also...all wrapped in a red cloth.  I pointed it out to a few missionaries there and all the Latinos were convinced it was brujeria (witchcraft).  Who knows what it was haha, but it was really weird.  It was gone by the next day!  We called it the bag of brujeria haha!   But don’t worry all is well in the Church :)

Everyone here tells me I make lots of facial expressions when I talk.  I knew that I was expressive, but I didn’t realize how much.  Almost everyone in the ward has commented on my face haha.  People think I’m crazy!  The Bishop is always laughing at my face.  I didn’t realize I was so weird until now.  But everywhere I go I’m the crazy gringa.

So this week wasn’t nearly as hard as last week.  We had some success!  Some failure too haha.  But we found lots of people!  And had a lot of uncomfortable moments too.  But that’s the mission!  The highs are high and the lows are low!  And every day is different!  It’s sometimes great and sometimes I want to take the next plane to San Diego.  BUT!  It’s so worth it!  The mission has already changed my life.  These people have helped me more than I can ever help them!  GO ON A MISSION.  It’s the best thing you can do for yourself!

I love you all!  Have a great week!

Love, Hermana Keeler

She says this is how everyone knows her name  Hermana Killer! 

And the rain continues!

Hermana Cervantes killing mosquitos! 

The Worth of Souls is Great! 

Lindsay the Bug Killer and Enchiladas save the day!

Buenas!  This week was really good, but also had some pretty rough days.  Friday we had some appointments in the morning and we were really excited for the day because we had good plans!  But no one was home.  And then all the people that were home didn’t let us in haha.  We walked to the homes of nine different families and nada!  And this was from 11:30 - 3 - the hottest time of the day.  We were really discouraged.  But then we went and had lunch with some really awesome members, la familia Flores Mejica.  La Hermana Julissa (the mom) made us enchiladas and flan!  So we were very happy!  Enchiladas are very different here.  There are two types:  one that is fried masa with meat, cheese, lettuce and onion on top and the other is like the enchilada that we know  in the States - but the sauce is mole and topped with half and half, lettuce and queso fresco.  Both are delicious.

So there’s this old man that we go visit.  He’s almost blind and only has one leg.  He used to be really sad and negative all the time but since we’ve been visiting him we’ve seen a real change in him.  He’s happy!  It’s really great!  So we went to see him one night and there was a HUGE dragon fly on his ceiling fan.  We told him it was there and he got all scared haha.  So I offered to kill it.  I’m really not that brave but somehow here in Mexico I always end up as the Bug Killer because everyone else is a bug baby (that one’s for you dad :)   Anyway, I grab his broom and start swinging away haha!   The dragon fly starts going crazy flying everywhere and I’m still swinging away and my comp and I are both screaming and it’s madness for like 30 seconds.  But I claimed the victory with one swing and the beast fell to the ground in defeat.  And all while this was happening Palomo was scared out of his mind because he can’t see!  But we reassured him everything was okay. And he was grateful! :)

We moved houses!  We live right across the street from the church now!  The house is in a better neighborhood!  Our old house was in a more dangerous area haha.  When we told people where we lived before everyone was surprised because apparently stuff goes down over there.  But we never saw anything or felt insecure.  I’ve really only felt scared like 3 times.  Which is actually crazy if think about it.  I’m 20 years old and not from here and I live with another 20 year old not from here.  But I know that Heavenly Father is constantly watching over us!  So Mom you don’t need to worry!  I’m in good hands.

Overall, this week was really rough.  We’re having trouble finding people to teach.  And when there are no people to teach, we have nothing to do.  We did a lot of walking in the hot sun looking for someone, ANYONE that wanted to talk to us.  This is by far the hardest thing that I have every done.  Everyday is like hiking Mt. Timpanogos and then falling down (Hot Rod style) all the way to the bottom.  Sometimes we reach the summit, sometimes for just one lesson, sometimes for a couple days!  But these are the moments that make it worth it!  Helping a viejito to get to church so he can hear “la palabra de Dios”, teaching kids who is Jesus Christ, actually participating in a group conversation in Spanish, helping someone pray for the first time.  This is why I’m here!

I love you all!

Love, 

Hermana Keeler

She sent this picture and said "this is how I feel about obeying the rules"... but don't believe her, she was a rule follower before her mission and she is even more now!

A list of the Awesome and Horrific

Buenas!  This week was actually so crazy.  I am beyond exhausted.  But I have news!  The elders in the ward right next to ours got sent to different areas and the mission closed the area.  BUT Hermana Cervantes and I asked if we could visit some people in the area and President told us we could work in both areas!  So we’re working in our area and opening another area!  We have a lot of work.  We’re getting to know all the members of Quetzalcoatl, looking for investigators there and continuing our work in Vergel.  And we’re going to move into the house where the elders used to live.  It’s nicer than our house and there is AIR CONDITIONING in the bedroom!!!  AIR CONDITIONING!   It’s legit 100 degrees everyday with 500 percent humidity so air conditioning is a dream within a dream.  We’re going to move in a week probably.  Good thing because my closet has termites and the kitchen is infested with ants.

Be grateful for your houses people.  The United States is beyond fresa (Fresa is a word that mean fancy/rich/snooty).  Like forreals.  Sit in your 73 degree living room on your comfortable couch and think of me, por favor!

This week had lots of highs and lows.  I’ve made a list of the most awesome/horrific...

HIGHS:

1.   Interviews with Presidente Ruiz.  He is so cool.
2.   Teaching the Plan of Salvation (if you don’t know what that is search it on www.lds.org ) to an entire family.
3.   Planning and carrying out an activity about missionary work for the stake!
4.   Successfully navigating the streets of Merida and communicating in Spanish without    my companion.  We did divisions, I was with an 18 year old from a different part of town.
5.   Eating nachos with carne al pastor.

LOWS:

1. Having to go to the offices twice in one week and taking the wrong bus BOTH times!    This bus left us at the mercado - it’s super far from the offices and smells awful and lots of weird people hang out there.
2.   Accidentally squirting very hot salsa on my face and burning my chin.
3.   Finding out the elders left the house that we are moving into extremely dirty!
4.   Eating spaghetti - but “spaghetti” is noodles with ketchup and mayonaise.
5.   Being told that I look like the psychotic girlfriend meme.  Sorry Derek.

 

(Here’s the psychotic girlfriend meme for your reference because I had no idea who this was, and I don’t see the resemblance but Lindsay does have crazy eyes when she gets excited sometimes!  Hopefully, that’s the only resemblance...)

Overall, this week was good.  Tiring, but good.  I started reading Jesus the Christ during my personal studies.  Everything in the Old Testament points to the coming of the Messiah.  Everything in the Book of Mormon too!  And now that He has already come, everything in the scriptures testifies the He will come again.  He is the most important person to ever walk on this Earth.  With His birth, we started over counting the years, think about that!  Time started over! 

I know that He is our Savior.  He lives!  And because He lives, I can live again!  

I love you all!

Love, 

Hermana Keeler

  Her abuela in the new area!

Meet the Guerra that's a little looney

Buenas!  So this week was kind of crazy!  We had a lot of changes in our zone.  One of our zone leaders injured his ACL and had to go home.  It was really sad :(   So we have a very different zone now.  We’re not sure who’s going to show up to our meeting Tuesday!  

On Wednesday we had a ton of appointments but all of them fell through.  It was a really rough day!  It was so hot (we went 5 days without rain- that means the pavementias continually heated without relief) and we had no luck finding anyone to teach.  We were really discouraged - but also had a little bit of hope because we had an appointment planned with an awesome family.  We arrived and they weren’t home, BUT they got home 5 minutes later!  Sweet relief from a day of rejection!

The Marin Family live on our street and always make us food!  Brother Marin works in the post office for all of Yucatan and he knew I had a package coming!  He brought it directly to me instead of sending it to the offices and waiting an extra week!  And it was the best package ever! (sorry Mom, when you write me a 17 page letter maybe you’ll win!   Thanks Derek :))  so that was a really nice end to a really chafa (crappy) day.  The Marins are the best.  They’re kind of like my parents here in Vergel :)

I taught my very first English class!  Teaching a language in a language you’re not very good at is hard!  But actually it went pretty well.  Only kids and teenagers came but that’s probably better because I would’ve been more nervous with adults.  I just tried to make it fun so they would come back next week!  I was a little bit crazy haha.  Now I’m known as the guerra that’s a little looney in Vergel as well as Oxkutzcab!

I gave a talk in Church!  I was really nervous and when I’m nervous and in front of a lot of people I do the exact opposite as you should do.  I make jokes.  This is a very dangerous habit -- and especially dangerous in a different language.  But while I was up there I realized I was heading for deep waters and swam back to shore haha!   I managed to get a few laughs and not embarass myself.  I spoke about missionary work - shocker!

I spoke about member involvement.  I’ve realized that members are SO important in finding and teaching.  I wish I would have helped the missionaries more before the mission!

Feed the missionaries!   Go teach with them!  Please!  This work is so important!  And it is a joyful work!  We’ve had like no success, but we’re still happy!  We really only taught a few “real” lessons with investigators this week.  But in one lesson we taught a family the message of the Restoration!  And I felt so happy!  Even though I suck at teaching, I love it! 

I love you all!  Have a great week!

Love, 

Hermana Keeler

 

A tree with a tire around it??

She took this picture for her old friend Tigre!

Opening the "best package ever"....