September 30

Hola Familia, September 30, 2013

Wow so for this month the goal of the mission was to have 200 baptisms, it has never been reached before in the mission and the mission reached it. People had said that it was impossible, but it happened :) There were 204 baptisms!!

As for the mission and my feelings for it, well it is all three. Really depends on the day that you ask me. Some days I absolutely love the mission, other days I just struggle through the day, but i would never change it for anything the good and the bad, the hard and the easy! The thing i hate is so many times I feel so inadequate. I know this week I had a lot of my weaknesses brought to my attention and it was really hard for me, but I am trying to learn and grow from it. It has been really hard to see no one really accept the gospel, but I have really had my own testimony strengthened because of this. I have realized how important it is to live the Gospel, read the scriptures, pray, and go to church. I have seen how the Book of Mormon really was written for our day. The prophets and their writings now have more meaning for me as I have felt some of the feelings that they have described.

The people here for the most part are warm and loving, many don't mind that we share something, but they do not want to change. They like listening, but they do not like doing. Many do not understand the importance of Religion. They all almost say well we are all worshiping the same God, so it doesn’t matter where you go. Authority is something that no one understands here and many refuse to accept even when we show them the scriptures. Many people what to believe that God is the way they imagine and don't understand that they can't choose what God is like. Also no one understands the importance of going to church, including the members. I love the members here, but we have a lot of unique challenges with them. We don't get much help from the members which makes the work really hard here, but yesterday the president started to come out with us to visit less actives and it was so good. They lit up like you wouldn't believe.

We are continuing working with Rocio, but she is like a closed book. She will not admit that anything is wrong and because of that she can't fix anything.

My companion will be going home after this change, so only 3 weeks left for her in the mission. I have a feeling that they are going to take the sister missionaries out of this area, it hasn’t really been growing. Almost all of the recent converts have fallen away. Our recent converts and the recent converts of the Elders have all fallen away. Members are so important in the work. They, you, really have a lot of power. Just a short visit makes all the difference!!

As far as money goes... yes they give us enough money for food, for transportation, for housing, for utilities and for personal items, like shampoo, dish soap, and things like that. Food is super expensive here. Housing is cheap, clothing, i don't know. Gas is also super expensive. The majority of people use buses here.

Of course I have missed you. It is different when you can talk to you everyday, you don't feel as home sick and see you every once in a while. I am so sorry that I have been so difficult in the past to correct me. I was being prideful and I didn't want to change. Thank you for all your hard work and for being amazing parents. I have really had me eyes opened here. You really are amazing parents.

With William, yes that is so unfair. I want you to go to Mormon messages and watch the "Will of God" it is on the 3rd page. I really love Mormon messages and have really helped here in the mission, but there are almost none in Spanish but i have found ways to get Spanish subtitles on some of them. :) Gabby well she will learn a lot while she is out there. She is going to make mistakes that are part of living, hopefully she will learn from them. I don't have spell check, only in Spanish.

I love you so much, I hope that your week is amazing!!!
Con Amor,
Hermana Anneliese Jenkinson