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.
- 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).
- 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!
- 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.)
- I’ve gotten really good at hand washing clothes. It sucks but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
- 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.”
- 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
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