New Pics :)

 

This is a picture of Brother Rodriguez and his family.  He is the nice man that called Mav the other day and told him that Kylie is awesome and is doing great!!

 

 

 

 

This is Hermana Martinez.  She is one of the trainers and Kylie loves her.  She said that she is always so happy and so fun!

 

 

 

She looks so beautiful in this picture.  I love that she found a little Christmas Tree!  Cutest thing I have ever seen under a tree:)

 

Poor Kylie was very sad in this picture.  This is Hermana Maty and Hermana Karen.  They have helped Kylie a lot and have helped them teach lessons.  Kylie said these are two of the greatest people she has met there.  She was so sad because on Friday they moved and this is their goodbye picture :(

 

 

 

Okay here is the back story for this picture.  Every year at Christmas time my kids receive a gift and a letter from our family Christmas elf named "Shorty"  This is a tradition that has been going on since Maveric was 2 years old.  This year "Shorty" gave my kids the gift of giving.  He wrote them a letter and enclosed some money in it and asked them to use the money to do something for someone in need.  Kylie was able to take the money and buy all this stuff for a sweet sister named Berniece.  Berniece has recently separated from her husband and just barely started working.  She has very little and these things will be greatly appreciated.  Kylie and her companion, Hermana Cedillo, were able to go shopping and they found great deals.  On Wednesday morning a member is going to drive them to Berniece's house and they will be able to anonymously leave the gifts for her and her little family.  What a great gift our Christmas Elf was able to give to my sweet missionary.  Love it!!!!

 

Excited for Christmas :)

Hola Familia! 

I cant believe we are only 4 days away from Christmas! I am getting so excited to talk to you guys! This week was pretty interesting to say the least. haha. We had splits with our sister training leader and her companion and I was with hermana Martinez in her area and it was really fun! She is such a good missionary and is super fun and happy so we had a good time! The rest of the week we really struggled in finding our investigators. Everyone is on vacation and not in there houses so we have done a lot of walking and not finding anyone but I am trying to just stay positive haha. I love being a missionary and I love this time of year. Christmas is such a great time and the people that we do find are all so willing to listen because they as well can feel the Christmas spirit! I was really grateful for Brother Rodriguez for calling mav! It was super crazy knowing that he was on the phone with Mav and that I couldnt talk to him, haha but It really meant a lot to me that he called you guys! And that he just did it. We were just finishing the lunch and he asked if he could have the number to talk to our families and he asked if I could translate for him and I told him Mav speaks Spanish so he called him! The families here are awesome! They really care about us so much and are so loving! They also are so thankful for you guys as well! That is something I love! Everyone here is constantly praying for our families and it is awesome! I am getting so so excited for Thursday and I cant wait to "see" you guys! This week for us is going to be crazy haha and I am pretty sure we are going to eat like 20 meals a day! haha tonight we have a dinner appointment, tomorrow we will be in Tepic with President Wagner, Hermana Wagner, and other missionaries. Wednesday is when the people here celebrate Christmas so we have lunch at 2, a big dinner at 8, my companion is going to talk to her family. Then Thursday morning we have a breakfast appointment with a family in the ward, our district class and we are eating lunch with a family that is from California Thursday afternoon and they are going to make ham and turkey and everything! haha then friday we have splits again so it is going to be a crazy busy week and hopefully somewhere inbetween all of our appointments we can find time to teach people! haha but I love you guys so much and hope you all have an amazing week! Ill see you guys on Thursday!!(:

Love always,

Hermana Searle  

Pretty Girl!

 

She looks great!!  I cant wait to "see" her and talk to her on Christmas!!!

 

Guadalajara and Russel M Nelson :)

Hola Familia! 

What a great week(: I feel extremely blessed this week to have been able to meet Elder Russel M. Nelson and listen to him speak to us! This week we were so busy and it was a week that truly flew by! On Tuesday we had our district class which went really well! We were able to have Hna. Nayheli and Hna. Maty and Hno. Alan with us all day so we went on splits! I was with Hna. Nayheli and Hno. Alan and oh my... lets just say they are going to get married one day because they fight like a married couple ha it honestly was kinda a frustrating day but it helped me realize how important it is to really focus on what matters out here! They are both great, just get distracted really easily! haha on Wednesday we were able to work alot with the less actives! On Thursday we were able to teach Liliana and Rafael( with the cute little boy who is also named rafael!) and they are realy great! On Friday it was a day that was so crazy! we had the ward Christmas dinner and we had invited a lot of investigators and all day we were running around trying to make sure everyone had a ride and that everyone was good to go. we felt like noone was going to be there because of how crazy it all was but when we got there we had 5 Investigators, and about 8 less active members there which was great! It was a really good activity! Then Saturday at 2 in the morning we headed to Guadalajara! When we got there I got to see Hna.Newbold(: and well the entire mission was there and the other Guadaljara mission as well! We had to get flu shots which wasnt very fun haha but then we all got situated and Elder Nelson got there and he took the time to greet each and everyone of us (462 missionaries) and shake each of our hands and I honestly cant even explain how great it was! The spirit was so strong and to be able to shake the hand of one of the Apostoles of our Savior is something I will never forget! There were also 3 Elders of the 70 there and each talk was amazing! And when we sang the hymns the spirit was so so strong with all of the missionaries there and overall it was a day that was beyond amazing! Yesterday I got to talk in church and I was so nervous!! haha it was the first time I have given a talk in church since I left the CCM and our ward is really big! haha but all in all it went really well! After in our gospel principals class one of the investigators of the Elders asked me if I spake english and I told him yes and then he explained to me how he has been going to different churches and looking for answers and that he just cant find them but during my talk he could feel the spirit and it was such a strong testimony builder for me because I honestly didnt have the best talk and I wrote it on the way to church but I know without a doubt that I was an instrument in the Lords hands and it is such a blessing! It is amazing knowing that through the power of the spirit and through the atonemnent of our savior anything is possile! I really just feel extremely blessed this week and am loving being a missionary! We have some new investigators to find this week and I am trying to find the good in everyday even when noone wants to listen to us! haha but really I am loving the mission and I am so glad you guys are all doing so well! I cant believe we are only 10 days away from Christmas(: I hope that you guys have an amazing week! I love you all so much(: 

Love always,

Hermana Searle

Cute new pics :)

 

Yummy Chocolate cake :)

 

Yay they found a Christmas Tree!!

 

Kylie emailed me this morning and asked if it was okay to go get a new outfit because Russell M Nelson is coming to talk to them his week :)

 

Here is a picture of the second outfit she bought today!  I think she is so adorable:)

Not a great week :(

Hola Familia! 

So I am glad to hear that you guys all had a great week! It sounds like things are going really well for you guys back home! I am glad that you guys are enjoying the holiday season! This week was a pretty rough week. We are having a really hard time with our investigators and the less actives because none of them are really progressing. This week we tried to find new investigators but are still kind of struggling. However, in our zone class the zone leaders told us that we needed to all say a prayer for at least 5 minutes before we slept thanking our Heavenly Father for all the blessings we have in our lives. And this is something that I have really tried to focus on this week, being thankful for the trials, and every blessing I have in my life. It is a lot easier to be happy when I think of all the blessings I have in my life. I know I have a lot to improve and I know if I just remember to do my best the Lord will do the rest. This week we are going to keep looking for new investigators, and more references from the members here. But some cool things are happening around here as well! Today I found out that one of the families from my area in Guadalajara got baptized and are preparing to go to the temple(: I was so happy to hear that! I know I only had a short time with them but they are such an awesome family and I am so happy for them(: This week we also get to go to Guadalajra because Russel M. Nelson is coming here(: I am so excited to be able to have the opportunity to listen to an apostole here! It will be really great! We also have a ward Christmas party this week, then on the 23rd we have a Christmas party in Tepic(its a place about 2 hours from Vallarta that is actually cold, yay!) with President and Hermana Wagner and missionaries from 2 other zones! And then on the 25th is Skype day!!(: There are a lot of great things happening this month!(: Oh, and one last cool experience! Today we should a lady the "El es la Dadiva" video and she told us that she was looking for something to show at the end of their acting out the birth of Christ in her daughters school! And she is going to use this video(: We were super stoked to hear that! haha but this week should be a good one! I hope that you guys have an amazing week! I love you all so much!!(: 

Love always,

Hermana Searle 

Thanksgiving Lunch

                      This is her Thanksgiving meal that a member made for them on Thursday :)

The Ocean

She finally got to see the ocean :)  She said this is as close as they are allowed to get to it though.

7 months :)

Hola Familia! 

I am so glad to hear that you guys all had a good Thanksgiving and that you guys were able to spend it with most of the family! Everyone looked so cute and I loved the pictures! This week for us was a crazy week! We are still really thankful for all the help we have been recieving from Hna.Karen and her mom Maty! They come teach with us everyday and it is always so fun! But, they will be moving to Guadaljara on the 16th and it makes me so sad :( But they will still live in mission boundries so maybe one day I will be in their ward again(: haha this week we found some really good new investigators! Lucy and Fabiola! Fabiola is one of hna.Matys friends from work and she is so prepared to recieve the gospel! The only problem is she has the biggest dog that literally barks 24/7 and anytime we have tried to teach in the past he has been horrible and we couldnt hear or talk ha but this week we were able to teach her and her dog was quiet the entire time! It truly was a miracle(: She really wants us to teach her husband as well and this week we will be visiting him! Lucy is another new investigator who we found when we were looking for her brother-in-law! She is really awesome! She is catholic but doesnt really go to church. She said she is a believer but not firm in her religion! She loves listening about the gospel and wants us to teach her more! I feel like she will realy progress! She also has 3 little kids that are adorable! haha But Thanksgiving here was great! We ate with the Romero family and they are one of the greatest families! On Thanksgiving I read the card from mom and cried because honestly I am just so blessed! And this year I really got to realize it more than ever! However, something really sad happened this week. On Saturday night we got a phone call and Hna.Cedillos Grandpa passed away :( It is so sad and I really dont even know how to help her, but if you guys could please keep her in your prayers that would be awesome! I know that through the power of prayer and the love our Savior has for her she will be okay! But its still hard! But, I cant believe we are already in December! Time goes by so fast! and i cant believe I have 7 months here! It is so crazy! But this week I invite you guys to watch the video "He is the gift" We as missionaries are working on helping others see this video to really feel the Christmas spirit and to rememnber why we have this Holiday! So I hope you guys can do the same! I hope you guys have a great week! I love you all so much! 

Love always,

Hermana Searle