Happy new year!

Happy New Year!

It is so crazy to believe that this year is wrapping up. First because there is no snow here and second because the time flew by. Seriously what a year, most of it spent in Mexico. Where the best food in the world is, where the roads are so small and so are the sidewalks, where there is no such things as garbage cans, and where there is more dogs than people on the streets. haha I look back on these eight months I have had here in Mexico and just am super grateful to my Father in Heaven for this oppertunity to learn and to grow. 

One of the biggest lessons I have learned here is to love. Love The Lord overall, love my companion, love my area, and to love those people who are so hard to love. haha But really I started my mission I was obidient for blessings. For the blessings that my investigators needed, for the blessing that my family needed, and obidient so that I could tell my mission president that I was obidient. A couple months ago I read the talk If you love me keep my commandments. He talks about the three different types of obidience, first is the type of obidience that comes from fearing God and his pushiments. The second is obidience for something in return, in my case seeing my investigators progress. The third type of obidience is for love of The Savior and his inifinite sacrifice. Seriously this changed not just my mission but my life for sure. Instead of studying for knowledge, I know study because I love Jesus and I want to be more like Him. You know there came a point in my mission where I didn´t baptize. That was super hard for me, I thought I was doing something wrong. Really this mission I am serving has nothing to do with me, what pride one must have to think that the mission is about a baptismal number. I have learned lots and cannot believe that I am almost half way done. This coming year I hope that you can all strive to be more obidient for love of The Savior. 

Have a good one

Hermana Sanchez

Milpa Alta

Hello All!

I am now in Milpa Alta. You know I always whined when we walked all day in my other areas and now I am in an area where it is all up hill. haha But really it is pretty crazy, I am super sore right now. This area is super Catholic. We have like 5 pueblos and each have like 2 HUGE catholic churches. They are super pretty but terribly annoying, seriously. They wake us up at 6 am with their prayers. They blast it so all the pueblo can hear it. My companion is fun. She is super crazy because she is Columbian but we get along super well. 

This week I read the talk Forget Me Not by Dieter F. Ucktdorf and it changed my life. But really it is an awesome talk. It talks about how God is fully aware that we are not perfect and He also knows that the people that we think are perfect are not perfect. Yikes! It is so true, on my mission I have found times where I have always compared my weakness with others strengths. I have learned that The Lord has called me, Natalie Sanchez from the best town in Utah, Springville. With all my imperctions and strengths, all I have to do is His will and not mine and the Lord will shape me into the person He desires me to be. Comparing ourselves with others makes us create impossible expectations. The hardest thing for me to accept is probably that changing some weaknesses into strengths are a life time thing, a long term process. Elder Ucktdorf says that "It is OK that we are not quite there yet, Stop punishing ourself." Yikes. He gives the advice to "Open our eyes to the simple and elegant moments. That is what makes up a rick well-lived life." and Mission!! I know this is true!. I love my Savior with all my heart, His grace time after time has lifted me and carried me. I have seen lives change as they accept Him as their Savior and Redeemer. As they accept Him as the only being that will help heal their wounds. I know He lives. I hope you all have a great Christmas! Love you all!!!

Hermana Sanchez

FELIZ NAVIDAD

Transfers

I'm going to miss her so much!

Ward Christmas party 

Some good looking members 

An awesome couple, we always have a good time with  these two

Christmas trees with investigators

​So old but super happy!

This week was crazy. I have transfers again, Hermana San Roman and I saw it coming! I have been with her for 4 months and two weeks, seriously I LOVE THAT WOMAN. I have never laughed and worked so hard in my entire life. I am going to miss her so so so much. She has really taught me how to enjoy the mission. There were a couple of times when we talked in a Columbian accent to spice up our street contacts, and now guess what? I am going to be with a Columbian sister. I am beyond excited!!!! Her name is Hermana Angel.

This week was super awesome, we worked super hard and really saw The Lord bless us. This area is really Catholilc and well it has been pretty hard to find investigators but one day we said a super super potente prayer and read in Preach my Gospel about how there are so many people who are searching for our message, who don't even know that they are searching for it. Then there are those really special cases where they really are searching for it but don't know where to find it. We were super just focused and super ready to get to work that day, and that night we helped some lady pick up some boxes. Seriously the lady has problem, she is bipolar and has major depresssion. She told us that after like 10 minutes of talking to her. Her name is Jovita and man a bunch of crazy stuff happened this week with her. Her daughter is not a good student so everyday we went and helped her daughter with her homework, and through out the week she would introduce us to people who were also trying to help her. Well now we are teaching a whole family and some other 3 woman that we met through Jovita. Serously The Lord blesses us as we sacrifice a little more and show more dedication to him. Sadly, Jovita is aggressive and for safety precautions we can't visit her anymore. But that family is super super prepared and even came to church yesterday. I am going to miss this area, the members are super awesome and sweet. A sweet sister also passed away yesterday, we visited her a lot and sang a ton of Hymns to her, she'd been sick for a while. You really live everything in the mission. 

Hermana Sanchez 

pS love you all have a great week!

Picture post!!!

Natalie wrote one sentence that she  didn't have time to write but she sent pictures!!!! 

Remember

Here in Mexico chilling,

Yikes what to write about this week.... well I am seriously living the whole mission dream here in Guerrero! We walk a lot, we dont have much success in contacting and just praying super hard to find these chosen people. And you know what I love it. In the beginning it was hard because in our other area we had a lot, A LOT of work. Always running from one appointment to the next. I know that The Lord is really trying to teach me patience because quite frankly I have none of that. Also faith, lots and lots of faith.

Last week all of the state of Mexico, Cuarnavaca and another state , all had a stake conference broadcasted from Salt Lake City. It was super awesome. They talked a lot about families but I love a quote that was mentioned by Spencer W. Kimball "The word remember is the most important word in our lives. Remember our covenants, remember to study your scriptures, and remember the Savior." It is so true. When I had like 4 months on the mission, I remember thinking how can I be focused and how can I remember The Lord more everyday? Then I remember when we went to the pyramids and every detail they made on those pyramids were symbols of their covenants. So that looking there they would be reminded of the sacred promised they made with God. And they believed that by doing that that they could eventually place those covenants in their hearts. There are so many distractions in the world and especailly on the misson but I know that as we strive to remember The Lord and our covenants that we will truely be made instruments in his hands. 

It is crazy to think that I have so much time on the misson. Time flies, sometimes I get really worried like that I am not learning everything that The Lord wants me to learn but I know that as I humble myself enough to listen and to act on His spirit I will become the person He desires me to become. But everything is in His time not mine. 

I also got proposed to this week by a 80 year old man on the streets. That was quite the experience. First he wanted a kiss and then he told me that I looked tired and that he would take great care of me. Oh Mexico. 

Have a great week and make sure to REMEMBER!

Hermana Sanchez

City!!!!

Hello all!

Well Hermana San Roman and I are opening another area. I do not know what I did to deserve this. haha not really, we always have a blast together!! We are in Vicente Guerrero now and it is super pretty. I am now in the Federal District of Mexico. Super close to the Metro and all the cool stuff. Sadly there are only like 3 active members, so much work to do!! Love that. Not going to lie, it has been really hard but I have grown so much! I have figured out on my mission that The Lord has so so so many things to teach us but we wont ever learn them if we dont learn to recognize those oppertunitites. It is so essencial to learn how to desifer wether our trials or dificulties come from our own mistakes, other mistakes, or The Lord trying to teach us something. It takes a lot of prayer but man am I grateful for the oppertunity I have of serving a full time mission. 

Also we are living with another companionship of sisters. It is a blast!! 

 

Hermans Sanchez 

This is me in my new area. Talk about city chic!! 

Hermana San Roman and I before transfers

Self sufficient

This week was so great.

First of all we got to hear from a Seventy 2 times this week. He spoke to the leaders of the Ixtapaluca Stake and then in a multi-zone conference. In both of them he talked about being self suffiencient spiritually. He talked about how perfect God is and He is also auto sufficiente. And how we should all stop all waiting for other to do the work and truley strive to be converted. He talked about how everyone goes to the temple and just expcets a bunch of names to be there, he asked us what it would feel like if we went to the temple they said they didn't have anymore names because we didn't send any. We depend so much on other, espoecially the general authorities. He talked about how much pressure we put on them to help us feel spiritually revived. But that is not how it is supposed to be. We are here to take control and be auto sufficient in our own spiritual well-being. He said "Figure out how you can stay motivated and a strong strong, The Lord has given us everything you need to succeed." Also I loved what he told us missionaries about charity, he said that charity has everything to do with the Obra de Salvacion. He said that people who struggle to have charity don't fully understand the Plan of Salvation...they only understand our life on earth.  I learned so much!!! I have had a rough month on the mission. I was measuring my success with baptisms, terrible. How selfish huh? Like this work has anything to do with me and those numbers. We have taught so many awesome "prepared" people who really have just chosen to not accept our message. That is so hard but I know that I did my part and I know that I gave it my all in this area. I have never worked so much in my life. we are getting transferred to another area. I am super happy because I am staying with my companion!!! I have a blast with her!! I know this church is true. I know that Satan will put a lot of thoughts of inadequency, that our efforts aren't making a difference. But as we take hold of our spiritual well-being we can find comfort in knowing that we are pleasing God. 

Take Care!

Hermana Sanchez 

Some of our favorite members. Sundays are the only days I get ready on the mission. haha

Selling candy in the streets!